Author David Irving has vowed to continue his legal battle to restore his reputation, despite being refused leave to appeal against a libel ruling which branded him a Holocaust denier.

Irving faces bankruptcy after losing his libel case against historian Deborah Lipstadt and Penguin Books over her book Denying the Holocaust.

But he today insisted he would continue with a separate case against Guardian Newspapers and writer Gitta Sereny, the biographer of Hitler's architect Albert Speer.

Following yesterday's Appeal Court ruling, Mr Irving has 21 days to pay the first £150,000 of legal costs, believed to run to £2.4 million.

He refused to discuss whether this would mean bankruptcy, telling the BBC: "1'm not going to start discussing financial details with the press.

"I am already a quarter of a million pounds out of pocket, but fortunately, I have a worldwide circle of many thousands of supporters, mostly in the USA, who have given me five and ten dollar bills to fight this action."

He added: "I wrote ten days ago to the lawyers for Guardian Newspapers and Gitta Sereny, warning them that my action would proceed regardless of the outcome of the Court of Appeal and that is now the situation.

"Even if I were to be bankrupted, I would be in in extremely strong position to proceed.

"I fought the first action by myself - one man against a courtroom filled with 40 lawyers and historians and their assistants, and if necessary I will do that against Guardian Newspapers and Gitta Sereny in the same way. I have never given in and I don't intend to capitulate now."
(c) Copyright Ananova Ltd 2001

Note that Irving was refused leave to appeal and the Court of Appeal said that he could not try and overturn this ruling. However in anticipation of an appeal actually being heard Irving is said to have lined up two further witnesses to testify on his behalf. Although both remain unnamed word is that their testimony would have been explosive; which is probably why Irving was refused leave to appeal. But with a seperate case now being lined up we may still hear from them. Or as Sherman Skolnick would say ...stay tuned. Rixon