Liz Hurley and tycoon husband 'paid their maid as little as £1.20 an hour'

Violet d'Souza, who is said to have been brought to Britain by Mr Nayar's family, claims she was paid in rupees for working up to 70 hours a week at the couple's Chelsea home.

She was due to take her case to an employment tribunal tomorrow but it has been dropped after she was reported to have been offered a five-figure settlement.

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Ms d'Souza, 31, says she worked several days a week at the Chelsea house, where she also lived.

Her chores included cleaning, cooking and babysitting from 7.30am until, on occasions, 3am the next day.

According to the Daily Mirror, the couple paid her 8,000 rupees a week - around £100.

The equivalent hourly rate would be between £1.40 and £1.60, and sometimes as little as £1.20 if she worked long hours. The legal minimum wage is £5.52.

Hurley, 42, is said to be worth £13 million from acting and modelling contracts while Mr Nayar, 43, comes from a wealthy Indian textiles family.

Ms d'Souza, who was dismissed after a row, claimed breach of contract, failure to supply a written statement of terms, race discrimination and unfair dismissal.

She also claimed back pay. The claims have been withdrawn.

A spokesman for Kingsway Tribunal Centre, where the case was due to start tomorrow, said: "We can confirm that the claim has been withdrawn and the pre-hearing review has been cancelled but cannot discuss the reasons."