Rangers damages bid ‘settled out of court’
A RANGERS administrator has settled a multi-million pound lawsuit over a botched fraud probe.
Scotland’s top law officer has agreed the out-of-court deal with David Whitehouse as compensation for wrongful prosecution.
Mr Whitehouse and Paul Clark, of insolvency experts Duff & Phelps, were subjected to criminal proceedings along with others in the wake of Craig Whyte’s purchase of the Glasgow club for £1 in 2011 and its subsequent sale.
Last night it emerged Mr Whitehouse, 55, had agreed a settlement with the Crown Office.
Its exact terms are confidential but it is believed to be a sum of several million pounds.
Sources close to the case confirmed the deal had been reached but there is ongoing discussion over the wording of an apology from Lord Advocate James Wolffe, QC.
A court hearing scheduled for today was called off and postponed for six weeks while outstanding matters to do with Mr Wolffe’s apology – which may be made at Holyrood – are resolved.
It is understood Mr Clark, 55, may have also reached a settlement. He was unavailable for comment last night. The two men have already settled with Police Scotland.
Mr Whitehouse, of Cheshire, brought a damages claim against Mr Wolffe and former Chief Constable Phil Gormley for £9million, while Mr
Clark, of Surrey, sued for £5million. In August, the total claim was said to have gone up to £21million.
The Lord Advocate has previously admitted malicious prosecution and a breach of human rights in the investigation.
At a hearing last week, Gerry Moynihan, QC, for the Lord Advocate, said: ‘The Lord Advocate has accepted that [Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark] shouldn’t have been prosecuted. They are entitled to be compensated.’
A series of probes were mounted following the takeover of Rangers by Mr Whyte, who was cleared over fraud allegations in 2017. Calls are now growing for an official investigation into the Rangers shambles, backed by leading legal figures including former Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.
Last night a spokesman for Mr Whitehouse declined to comment.
A spokesman for the Crown Office said yesterday: ‘The cases are still before the court and in order to respect the processes under way we will not comment at this time.
‘The Lord Advocate has made clear that he will support appropriate public accountability and intends to make a statement to the Scottish parliament in due course.’
‘Exact terms are confidential’