Police pay former Rangers expert £310,000

A FORMER Rangers administrator has been handed more than £310,000 by Police Scotland in damages and legal costs over his wrongful arrest.

David Whitehouse, 55, received the cash along with £10.5million from the Crown Office over a bungled arrest and prosecution in a botched fraud probe.

The insolvency expert and his former Duff & Phelps colleague Paul Clark, 56, received £75,000 each from police in damages, along with legal costs. The total police cost for the Whitehouse case alone is understood to be more than £310,000. Mr Clark has also received £10.5million from the Crown Office.

The total bill for the Rangers scandal is likely to top £100million after attempts were made to prosecute businessmen involved in the club’s collapse. Last night Scottish Tory finance spokesman Murdo Fraser called for an inquiry. He said: ‘This is a scandal that is now unprecedented in the history of the Scottish legal system.’

Mr Whitehouse, 55, told the Mail: ‘The whole process has been shocking, utterly horrendous – akin to torture.’

His ordeal started after Craig Whyte began the process of buying Rangers in 2011, and Duff & Phelps gave financial advice. After Mr Whyte, 50, took over the Ibrox club and it fell into administration, the firm took control of the finances.

A suspicious Mr Whitehouse contacted police and liquidators took over.

Charles Green went on to buy Rangers’ assets. Then Mr Whitehouse was twice arrested at his home in 2014 and 2015. After 15 months of legal proceedings, Mr Whitehouse’s lawyers successfully argued there was no evidence against him.