Edwina Currie's revelations have left John Major facing legal action from a magazine he sued in 1993.

The New Statesman confirmed on Friday that it would sue the former prime minister for the costs of a libel action he launched against the magazine after it falsely claimed he had an affair with a Downing Street caterer.

Spencer Neal, the magazine's publisher, said that if he could locate the papers relating to the 1993 legal action, he would seek to recoup the "devastating" costs.

Major served libel writs on Scallywag and the New Statesman and Society magazines over false claims of an affair with Downing Street caterer Clare Latimer.

But following Currie's revelations of her four year fling with Major, the magazine has taken legal advice on the claim that its accusations amounted to an attack on the former PM's reputation.

"The advice that we have been given is that we do have a case and we are pursuing it," said Neal.

"It is our intention [to sue] but we have to substantiate our position with the documents from the time.

"Subject to us being able to properly recover the details of what was said and sworn at the time, we can now confirm that we would be keen to pursue our case to recover the costs that we paid in 1993.

"Assuming that we can obtain all the necessary papers, we do intend to sue," he confirmed in a leader in this week's edition of the New Statesman.

"The settlement involved only a small payment directly to the plaintiffs.

"But the magazine had to meet substantial legal costs as well as libel damages paid by its printers and distributors, who were also sued.

"The burden, running well into six figures, brought it very close to bankruptcy."

The news appears set to prolong the embarrassment for Major, with the prospect of a legal dispute keeping his clandestine affair in the headlines.