Tycoon banned from contacting daughter
Court order imposed after arrest on assault charge
SCOTTISH tycoon Euan Snowie has been banned from communicating with or contacting his student daughter after spending a night in police cells accused of assaulting her.
The 48-year-old appeared from custody yesterday at Stirling Sheriff Court after being arrested at his mansion, Boquhan House, near Kippen, Stirlingshire.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge alleging that he assaulted his daughter, Louise, 20, by pushing her repeatedly on the body and striking her on the head to her injury. The incident is said to have taken place on Tuesday this week.
Prosecutor Sarah Lumsden did not oppose bail but asked for special conditions keeping the businessman away from Boquhan House and his daughter.
She said: ‘The accused does not have a record for violence, however his record does in some way support the suggestion that he has some difficulty with alcohol and this seems to be the catalyst for these allegations.
‘It is noted in my police observations that when alcohol has been consumed, his personality somewhat changes.’
Defence solicitor Alastair Ross said Miss Snowie is a student in Edinburgh, where she is working and living in her own flat over the summer.
He asked that Snowie should not be excluded from his mansion – though he said the tycoon could live in a twobedroom cottage in its grounds provided he is able to access the main house, where he has his office, from nine to five on weekdays.
Mr Ross added: ‘The injury referred to is redness but no bruising – but of
‘His personality somewhat changes’
course, the charge is denied. He conducts his business in the house.’
Sheriff Wyllie Robertson set summary trial for July 14, with a pre-trial hearing on July 5.
He said he was ‘not persuaded’ that it was necessary to impose a special bail condition requiring Snowie to keep away from Boquhan House but he did impose a condition preventing him from ‘communicating with or contacting’ Miss Snowie.
Earlier, depute fiscal Miss Lumsden told the court that both the prosecution and defence had agreed identification of Snowie as the alleged perpetrator was ‘not controversial’ and would not be an issue at the trial. After the case, Snowie was released by G4S guards from the court’s custody entrance. He said nothing to a reporter as he walked from the building.
In 2001, his family waste disposal company was involved in the massive clean-up following the nationwide foot and mouth disease outbreak.
Snowie Ltd was paid £38million for the disposal of millions of animal carcasses. The Snowie brothers Malcolm, Alistair, Gordon and Euan, along with their mother Sheila, later sold their waste management company for around £40million.
Snowie runs Euan Snowie Holdings Ltd, based at Boquhan House.
In 2008 he became a household name after fighting and losing a landmark battle to ban ramblers from entering his 70-acre estate, which has links to Bonnie Prince Charlie.
He had wanted the Boquhan Estate to be exempt from the Scottish parliament’s 2003 Land Reform Act’s right-to-roam provisions.
Two years ago, a hotel chain of which Euan Snowie was listed as a director was put into liquidation after being taken to court over unpaid debts by HM Customs and Excise.