Child porn chef Allen bows out of Ballymaloe

DISGRACED celebrity chef Tim Allen moved to protect his multi-million euro family business last night, announcing he was ceasing all connection with the Ballymaloe Cookery School and hotel.

The family, worried about the financial fall-out after Mr Allen’s conviction for possession of child pornography on Thursday, issued a joint statement stating his future involvement with Ballymaloe would “not be in the best interests of the business”.

Mr Allen, who was fined €40,000 and ordered to do 240 hours of community service after he downloaded images of children engaged in sexual acts, also apologised for what he had done. The statement followed a family meeting yesterday about the future of the business, which was hit over the weekend. A spokesman for the family said a number of gift vouchers and cookery course bookings (a 12-week course costs up to €7,650) had been cancelled and dinner bookings at Ballymaloe House Hotel had also been affected.