City high-flyer in £2million court battle with his own father after giving up work to look after his elderly mother - only to end up homeless 'when his dad changed the locks while he was out running'

By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER Published: 11:14, 7 July 2026 | Updated: 11:16, 7 July 2026 A former City high-flyer who claims he ended up homeless after giving up work to care for his frail mother at his father's request is now fighting him in a £2m court battle. Harry Lambert, 42, had carved out a successful career as a private equity specialist but says he found himself homeless and destitute after a row with his 80-year-old millionaire father.    He was renting a plush apartment in exclusive Canary Wharf when he returned home in 2023 to help care for his elderly mother after being asked by his father, he told London's High Court.    Before moving back into the family house in Redbridge, his father 'promised to provide him with long-term secure accommodation,' Mr Lambert claims. However, he ended up living 'on the street', he says and claims that after tensions got so bad that his father, Christopher Lambert, changed the locks to the home whilst he was out for a run. Harry is now in a council-run HMO flat, where he can't work because of his living conditions, following his mother's admission to a care home, where she later died.  He is now suing his father, a retired teacher, for a portion of the wealth acquired by his parents, claiming that his mother left assets valued at around £2m, and to force his father to let him back into the family house to live. But his father, who inherited all Mrs Lambert's money on her death, disputes the amount Harry says the family fortune is worth and denies making any promises that his son would be financially 'looked after'. Harry Lambert (pictured outside High Court) claims he ended up living 'on the street' after tensions got so bad that his father, Christopher Lambert, changed the locks to the home whilst he was out for a run Christopher Lambert pictured outside High Court where he is locked in a £2m row with his son Before moving back into the family house in Redbridge (pictured), Harry claims his father 'promised to provide him with long-term secure accommodation' Judge Richard Farnhill heard Harry claim that his father turned against him when they clashed after he sold one of the family's properties in Woodford Green without handing any of the profits to his son, as he had allegedly promised. Harry insists that by returning home, he had lost out on earnings, given up a solid tenancy and then contributed towards household expenses while helping to care for his mother. In June 2025, Harry's dementia-stricken mother, Maureen, was admitted to a care home, and in August his father changed the locks on the family home, the court heard. Maureen died the following month and left her entire estate to her husband, the court heard. The 'destitute' ex-financier is now suing his elderly dad in a bid to secure a slice of the fortune he says he was promised, and to win the right to return home. 'I want to be back in my house and in my bed where I was living for 20 months and which has been my family home for 40 years,' he told the judge. 'I'm now living in an HMO flat in Dagenham with no WiFi and so no ability to do a job which relies on having access to the Internet. 'I've not been earning and I've been on universal credit, I've been reduced from an earning capacity of £100,000 per year to being poor. 'I can't even eat most nights.' Harry is seeking a court ruling that he is entitled to a 50 per cent share in the estate, as well as bringing an 'estate-wide' proprietary estoppel claim over family assets. His father's failure to share the profits of sale from the Clementine Walk property 'caused considerable friction between Harry and his father, and soon after that happened their relationship started to break down,' the judge told the court. 'In February 2025, his father told Harry to leave the property, but he didn't do so.  'Over the next few months, Christopher Lambert installed locks on the internal doors, excluding his son from areas such as the kitchen.' In June 2025, Mr Lambert's dementia-stricken mother, Maureen (pictured), was admitted to a care home, and in August his father changed the locks on the family home. Maureen died the following month and left her entire estate to her husband, the court heard With the trial of Harry's claim on the family money pending, his case reached court as he applied for an interim order allowing him 'exclusive' use of the house, with his father having to leave, or an alternative order requiring his father to fund his accommodation to the tune of £3,500 per month. 'I'm asking for reinstatement into the property and my father's exclusion, as we cannot co-habit,' he told the judge. 'He hasn't been in the property most of the time, he has been abroad travelling, but my fall-back position is that he should fund temporary accommodation for me until trial.' Ms Heung, for Christopher Lambert, argued that it would be 'draconian' if he ended up being barred from his own home of 40 years and dismissed Harry's argument that his father can go to another property he owns. She said: 'He seeks not merely to enter the property, but to occupy it as his sole or primary residence and exclude his father from his own home. 'The parties' relationship has broken down seriously,' she continued. The barrister also said the dad 'denies making any clear, binding or irrevocable promise giving Harry a proprietary interest in any property or asset'. After two hours in court, the judge refused Harry's application to exclude his father from his property and move back in, also declining to order that he cover his son's rent. However, he directed that the trial of Harry's wider claim should be heard as soon as possible and said he should be given access to the family home to recover what he claims is property worth tens of thousands of pounds, including a collection of rare plants.