Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones files for bankruptcy protection ahead of Sandy Hook family payout

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has filed for bankruptcy protection, needing to pay nearly £1.2 billion in damage payments to families whose children died in the Sandy Hook massacre.

Jones, who owns Infowars - a website of dubious theories and news - called the 2012 mass shooting a “hoax” and was ordered to pay up damages by a court.

On Friday, it was reported he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in bankruptcy court in Houston. His filing lists one billion (£820 million) to 10 billion dollars in liabilities (£8.2 billion).

A total of 26 people were killed by a gunman at the school in Newtown, 20 of them children.

In October, a Connecticut jury awarded the families $965 million in compensatory damages (£792 million), and a judge later tacked on another $473 million (£388 million) in punitive damages.

Earlier in the year, a Texas jury awarded the parents of a child killed in the shooting 49 million dollars (£40 million) in damages.

Jones has laughed at the awards on his Infowars show, saying he has less than two million dollars (£1.6 million) to his name and will not be able to pay such high amounts.

The comments contradicted the testimony of a forensic economist at the Texas trial, who said Jones and his company Free Speech Systems have a combined net worth as high as $270 million (£221 million).

Free Speech Systems is also seeking bankruptcy protection.

In documents filed in Free Speech Systems' bankruptcy case in Texas, a budget for the company for October 29 to November 25 estimated product sales would total $2.5 million (£2 million), while operating expenses would be about $740,000 (£607,000). Jones's salary was listed at $20,000 (£16,400) every two weeks.