He has been ordered to hand over assets to mother and daughter pair Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, including a collection of rare watches, a court has ruled. The pair were accused of fraud by Mr Giuliani and suffered abuse and threats that were so severe they had to go into hiding.

A jury in Washington awarded them $146 million in damages last December. Mr Giuliani is appealing that verdict.

Yesterday, however, a judge in Manhattan ordered the former mayor of New York City to surrender his apartment and other items to be sold via a receivership.

The apartment, near Madison Avenue, has a wood-burning fireplace and a dining room that Vanity Fair described as being “crammed with crystal, china and linen” in 2007. It was offered for $6.5 million in a sale listing from last year.

Mr Giuliani had argued that a number of the items he was asked to hand over were of unique value. Judge Lewis Liman said, however, that this did not allow him to enjoy them while withholding them.

The judge said that the spirit of New York law was that “no man should be permitted to live at the same time in luxury and in debt”.