London: Australian ex-paparazzo Darryn Lyons has lost an appeal in the British courts over a seven-figure capital gains tax bill after a judge ruled his dog showed he was living in the UK.

The one-time popularly elected Liberal mayor of Geelong went to court to fight a tax bill totalling £1.087 million ($2 million), which officials said related to the sale of properties he owned in the UK in 2012-13.

The 57-year-old had claimed he was not a resident of the UK during that tax period and was not liable to pay the bill.

The businessman and reality TV star, who came to prominence as founder of the world’s largest celebrity photo agency, Big Pictures, had been in the process of moving back to Australia in November 2011.

Lyons, who once appeared on Britain’s Celebrity Big Brother with a surgically enhanced six-pack, had transferred a large amount of his jewellery and his Ferrari to Australia during the period.

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But the London Telegraph reported the judge in the Tax Tribunal found that Lyons’ dog, Amber, to whom he was said to be “extremely attached”, was still in Britain during that financial year. In the UK, the tax year starts on April 6 each year and ends on April 5 the following year.

Judge Tracey Bowler found that the process for moving Amber to Australia, which can take up to six months because of strict quarantine laws, had not started until January 2012, pushing Lyons’ residency into the next tax year.

She said the dog remained in the UK until some time after July 2012, although work had commenced in December 2011 to identify what steps were needed to transport Amber to Australia.