Jim Justice , the Republican US senator, and his wife have agreed to pay more than $5m that the couple owes in back taxes shortly after they were sued over the 16-year-old debt by the federal government.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in their home state of West Virginia , maintained that the Justices had received notice from the US treasury department of the funds due since 2009 but had “neglected or refused to make full payment of those assessments”.

The suit demanded that Jim and Cathy Justice – a member of West Virginia’s state board of education – pay back the balance of nearly $5.2m along with any other relief that the court deemed “just and proper”.

A separate filing later on Monday said the US justice department had struck a settlement with the political couple, w

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