Combative Giuliani appears in court after missing deadline to surrender assets

Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at court (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

A combative Rudy Giuliani said a civil case to take his most prized assets was like “a political persecution” before he entered a New York City court on Thursday to explain to a federal judge why he has not surrendered his valuables as part of a 148 million dollar (£114 million)  defamation judgment.

Judge Lewis Liman ordered the former New York City mayor to report to court after lawyers for the two former Georgia election workers who were awarded the massive judgment visited Mr Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment last week only to discover it had been cleared out weeks earlier.