Celebrity lawyer ‘Mr Loophole’ claims Ant McPartlin is ‘legal custodian’ of beloved dog Hurley because pet looks HAPPIER as he wades into divorce row
THE infamous lawyer known as "Mr Loophole" has claimed that Ant McPartlin will get custody of dog Hurley in his divorce settlement with Lisa Armstrong.
Beloved pet Hurley is said to be the main bone of contention as the pair split.
And now Nick Freeman, nicknamed "Mr Loophole" thanks to his work getting a string of high-profile celebrity clients including David Beckham off due to technicalities, has weighed in.
He wrote on Twitter this morning: "I've no doubt how much these devoted owners both love Hurley.
"But you can tell a lot from the body language between man/woman and dog.
"And in my view, and this particular case, I think Ant is the rightful custodian."
Ant, 42, credited the pooch with helping him tackle his drink and drug addictions.
Make-up artist Lisa, 41, is equally smitten and fills her Instagram with snaps of Hurley.
She even describes him as 'her baby boy'.
The five-year-old pet was the couple's first dog when he arrived in 2013 at a time when they were said to be trying for a child.
Ant would receive birthday cards with Hurley's paw print when filming away for I'm A Celebrity in Australia.
MR LOOPHOLE: Celebs go-to lawyer when they're in a fix, including David Beckham
Nick Freeman is a celebrity defence lawyer who specialises in traffic and speeding offences.
He describes himself as Mr Loophole and prides himself on his ability to get celebs off the hook with technicalities.
And he was on ahnd when David Beckham was accused of driving a Bentley at 59mph in a 40mph zone.
Freeman managed to successfully fight the allegation.
He pointed out the notice of intended prosecution was "defective" because it arrived on February 7 - one day later than the deadline set by law.
Mr Freeman argued that it would be "unsafe" to allow the proceedings to continue because of what he claimed was a lack of admissible prosecution evidence.
And after five and a half hours, District Judge Barbara Barnes found the notice of intended prosecution was one day outside the legal limit.
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Hurley was allowed into the Priory last year to see Ant in rehab, when he was not even allowed to see his family.
He brought Hurley to Britain's Got Talent auditions at the London Palladium in February during "bring your dog to workday".
But since their split in January, Ant and Lisa each have custody of Hurley for one week at a time.
Pals say the weekly handovers have been increasingly difficult and shared custody will be one of the key factors of their divorce.
TV star's troubled timeline
- 2014: An unsuccessful operation leaves Ant in agony and triggers painkiller addiction.
- 18 June 2017: Ant checks into rehab.
- August: Ant reveals his addiction and comes home from rehab.
- 13 January 2018: Ant announces he and Lisa are to divorce.
- 18 March: He crashes car and is arrested for drink-driving.
- 19 March: Ant returns to rehab and announces break from TV.
- 16 April: Ant fined £86,000 for drink-driving
- 28 April: He leaves rehab again after month of “intensive treatment”
- 17 June: The Sun on Sunday reveals Ant has new lover Anne-Marie.
- 24 August: They are seen together in Florence.
- 16 October: Ant and Lisa are granted a decree nisi by court.