A December date has been set for his appeal against last year's failed High Court libel verdict.

The court hearing is expected to last two weeks and could finish exactly a year after the jury returned its damning decision last December.

"We are hoping for a rather better Christmas present this year than we had last year," said Mr Hamilton yesterday (Tuesday).

If the judges find in Mr Hamilton's favour there could be a retrial.

It will also mean he won't have to pay Mohamed Al Fayed's legal bills.

Yesterday Mr Hamilton said the case had been brought forward.

"I think that shows the degree of public importance that they have attached to the case and the gravity of the allegations we are making against Al Fayed," he said.

The former Tory minister revealed yesterday that he still had not been billed by Al Fayed for his legal payments.

But he said he was struggling to pay his own £1.25million costs.

"I already owe more to my lawyers than I can pay," he said.

"But we will never give up and I will fight on to establish the truth not only about myself, but about Al Fayed."

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