Chief constable sued for £9m over Rangers
Arrested administrator launches lawsuit
‘Unlawfully detained’
A FORMER Rangers administrator arrested during the probe into the club’s affairs is suing Scotland’s chief constable and most senior prosecutor for £9million.
David Whitehouse, 51, wants the cash from Police Scotland chief Philip Gormley and Lord Advocate James Wolffe, QC.
Mr Whitehouse and his colleague Paul Clark were charged by police investigating Craig Whyte’s 2011 takeover of the club.
But the charges against them were later dropped following a court hearing in June 2016.
Mr Whitehouse claims that his detention was ‘wrongful’. Lawyers acting for the insolvency practitioner claim their client was ‘unlawfully detained’ in November 2014.
They also claim that throughout the detention, there was no reasonable grounds to suspect that Mr Whitehouse had broken the law.
Mr Whitehouse also claims that police obtained evidence without following proper legal procedure.
His lawyers also claim prosecutors issued an indictment against him without any ‘evidential basis’.
Mr Whitehouse says the actions of police and prosecutors damaged his reputation of being a ‘ first- class financial professional’.
The businessman, of Cheshire, claims his arrest caused him to suffer a £1.75million loss to his earnings.
He says that between 2009 to 2014, his gross earnings averaged £988,000 per year. He says that he only made £408,400 in 2015 and £401,733 in 2016. His lawyers say he lost earnings because he lost his licence to operate as an insolvency practitioner and also lost out on bonuses.
Mr Whitehouse also claims that while in custody on November 14, 2014, a senior anti-terrorist police officer told him his life and home were at risk. He says insurers then declined to renew his home insurance.
Yesterday, lawyers acting for Mr Whitehouse appeared during a short hearing at the Court of Session. It emerged during proceedings that Mr Whitehouse’s colleague Paul Clark is also suing the chief constable and Lord Advocate.
Judge Lord Arthurson arranged for a four- day hearing into the legal issues surrounding the case to take place at a yet to be arranged date.
Lawyers are examining whether the two actions should be a single case.
The case has emerged from the circumstances surrounding Craig Whyte’s takeover of Rangers.
Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark, who worked for Duff & Phelps, were appointed as administrators of the club in February 2012.
Four months later the company’s business and assets were sold to a consortium led by Charles Green for £5.5million.
Police later launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding the takeover.
Both men were cleared of any wrongdoing months before Craig Whyte was charged for fraud over the takeover.
He was also cl eared of any wrongdoing by a jury in June this year.
Mr Whitehouse, who is also suing Liam Murphy, procurator fiscal for specialist case work, also believes that his human rights were breached as a consequence of the actions of the police and prosecutors.
The chief constable and the Lord Advocate claim police and prosecutors acted in accordance with correct legal procedure and that his human rights were not breached.
The chief constable and Lord Advocate also claim Mr Whitehouse has not suffered any loss or injury as a consequence of the actions taken.
They believe the case should be di s missed because t he Lord Advocate is exempt from civil action from people who were subject of a legal investigation.