An eccentric Englishman bequeathed £4 million to Sinn Fein in a swipe at the UK. William Hampton left his vast estate to the political wing of the IRA when he drew up the will in 1997, a year before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement that brought an end to three decades of conflict.

Sinn Fein has employed investigators to track down Mr Hampton’s assets, which included properties in Ireland, Devon and Wales and a yacht in New Zealand.

The assets so far uncovered by Sinn Fein – just over £4 million – are worth far more than was realised when some details of Mr Hampton’s will were made public after his death aged 82 in Wales in January 2018.

Mr Hampton, who was born in London, was an eccentric who suffered from mental health issues and travelled widely in Ireland.

Owen Smyth, a Sinn Fein councillor who befriended Mr Hampton in 1996, told a TV documentary: “He did it to spite this government.”