Rocket man in gag fail
Space race director used dual identities
A businessman who claims to be funding Scotland’s space race failed in a legal bid to stop the Sunday Mail revealing his two names and fraud charges.
A businessman claiming to be bankrolling Scotland’s space race attempted to gag the Sunday Mail and stop us revealing his two identities and fraud charges.
Leonne International director Michael Haston previously operated under the name Michael McQueen. He was charged by police in 2017 over fraud allegations linked to an Edinburgh building firm.
The Crown Off ice has conf irmed McQueen is the subject of an “active” investigation.
When we asked the self-proclaimed “Scottish wonder kid” to comment on the revelations, his lawyers attempted to interdict publication at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
But after a three-hour hearing of Friday, a sheriff dismissed claims his privacy would be breached.
Sunday Mai l lawyer Campbell Deane said: “They sought to argue that publ ishing the material would breach his privacy but the court accepted our position t hat t here wa s no expectation of privacy in a matter disclosing both his change of name and the fact he had been charged by the police.”
Last week, we revealed concerns over Haston’s reported £ 2million investment in a rocket launch pad on Shetland through his f irm Leonne International.
Shetland Space Centre, whose chief executive is Frank Strang, has received at least £ 15,000 of public money and has two prominent ex- politicians on its board – former Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott and former Labour minister Brian Wilson.
Haston – who boasts of having made more than £ 500million selling a “Cayman- based fund” – now has a 20 per cent stake in the project. But the Financial Conduct Authority has issued a warning over Leonne, and many of the firms the “leading multi-national” claimed to have “acquired” had never heard of Haston and his firm.
Proposals for the space port on Unst in Shetland were submitted for planning approval in March.
In February, the BBC and other media reported Leonne’s £ 2million “financial injection” that gave it a 20 per cent stake.
Documents filed with Companies House suggest the investment involves a “share swap” deal with a “nominal value” of £5..
Businessman George Rolls – named as a non-executive director in Leonne – flatly denied holding the role.
Leonne has insisted it has acquired shareholdings in all the firms listed and that Rolls had been a paid adviser.
The FCA issued a warning on March 3 over the firm. It said Leonne had been “targeting people in the UK” and “providing financial services without authorisation”.
Haston claims to have 12 offices around the world. But Leonne has never filed accounts with Companies House and was only incorporated in September 2018.
A Scottish Enterprise spokesman has confirmed Shetland Space Centre was awarded £16,000 of funding last October.
A Leonne International spokesman said: “We cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, suffice to say any accusation of wrongdoing is without foundation, untrue and will be contested vigorously.”
A spokesman for Shetland Space Centre said he was aware Haston used another name and insisted Leonne’s investment had been honoured.