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A new wave of divorce battles could be launched in London if the “Panama Papers” show that wealthy individuals hid their fortunes overseas from their ex-partners, lawyers said today.

They believe the leak of 11 million documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca “will excite a lot of ex-wives” and could lead to some cases being re-opened.

Georgina Hamblin, director at specialist divorce lawyers Vardags, said complex trust structures were regular features of legal cases. “Whilst first set up in the context of a happy marriage to reduce tax exposure, often trust structures swiftly become vehicles through which parties seek to reduce their spouses’ financial claims against them on divorce,” she added.

“There will therefore be many a scorned divorcee out there watching the leak of the Panama Papers with interest.” The documents reportedly revealed that British tycoon Scot Young helped to keep details of a £500 million fortune from his ex-wife Michelle “in a game of hide and concealment”, allegedly aided by Mossack Fonseca.

Mr Young died after plunging onto railings below his £3 million Marylebone penthouse in December 2014. He was in a relationship with Noelle Reno. Mr Young is among a number of wealthy husbands said to have been named in the data from the law firm. It denies any wrongdoing but the scandal showed little sign of dying down with:

Cabinet minister Michael Fallon forced to defend David Cameron over the storm about his late father Ian’s Blairmore Holdings offshore company, which was allegedly moved from the Bahamas to Ireland after he became Prime Minister in 2010.

Downing Street refusing to say whether Mr Cameron benefited from the fund in the past.

Labour stepped up pressure following reports that he intervened to block the public naming of trust beneficiaries in an EU tax avoidance clampdown. The Treasury insists the move was to keep the focus on tackling “shell companies” and the public trust beneficiary register was not “achievable”.

Several celebrities were named in the fall-out from the data leak including Simon Cowell, the Duchess of York, Sir Nick Faldo and Sir Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills. There is no evidence that any of them did anything illegal or wrong.

China sought to maintain a media blackout over claims that relatives of eight members of its Communist party elite were shown in the leaked papers to have used offshore companies.

Questions were being asked as to why so few high-profile Americans have been named, sparking speculation over its source.

Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson was named as Iceland’s new Prime Minister after Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson quit following claims over an offshore company. He denies any wrongdoing.

Tom Farley Hills, family lawyer at Harbottle & Lewis, said there were “likely to be repercussions” if UK residents had failed to disclose assets in offshore firms during divorce proceedings in English court.