MORE than two weeks after the Sunday National and The National revealed that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) would be hit with a bill for £24 million to pay the two Rangers administrators who were maliciously prosecuted, the Scottish Government has had to admit that special arrangements have been made to pay the two men.
David Whitehouse and Paul Clark, who worked for restructuring and recovery firm Duff & Phelps, were wrongly prosecuted for fraud after the club’s takeover by businessman Craig Whyte.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser called for an inquiry into the case which was overseen by Lord Mulholland, the former Lord Advocate who is now a judge, and current Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC.
Fraser asked how the payouts would affect the COPFS budget. Finance Secretary Kate Forbes responded in the Holyrood Parliament: “Arrangements have been made so these settlements won’t affect the service. The Lord Advocate advised the actions in the Court of Session are still pending and a hearing will call later this week.
“The Lord Advocate will make statement to Parliament at the earliest opportunity and Murdo Fraser will have opportunity to ask questions.”
Fraser said: “This was not just a mistake but a sinister abuse of state power that strikes at the very heart of Scotland’s criminal justice system.”
One of the men with intimate knowledge of the case is leading Scottish PR expert Jack Irvine, who has represented David Whitehouse, fellow administrator David Grier and former Rangers chief executive Charles Green throughout their cases – the latter two will received millions in damages, while Duff & Phelps are suing for millions more.
Irvine said: “This has been a deeply troubling assignment for me as I had been involved with Rangers for many years and I knew all of the accused personally and had become friends with them. I was also interviewed by the police as a witness for the farcical Rangers trial and as a complainant over the stolen Charlotte Fakes emails.
“I work with lawyers on a daily basis and I can tell you they are disgusted at the way both Lord Advocates have shown the once lauded Scottish legal system to be a dysfunctional mess.”
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