THE convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee, Adam Tomkins MSP, has written to Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC asking for the committee to be told just how much taxpayers’ money will require to be paid for the Crown Office’s malicious prosecution of the administrators of Rangers FC.
The National revealed earlier this month that a total of £24 million has already been paid by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to David Whitehouse and Paul Clark of Duff & Phelps, appointed administrators of the club when it collapsed over a tax debt in 2012 and later prosecuted without cause.
But in an astonishing new development, an action is under way which could see the Crown Office have to pay upwards of £25m more for corporate reputational damage to Duff & Phelps.
This will be in addition to the damages which will have to be paid to former Rangers chief executive Charles Green and club commercial director Imran Ahmad, who were also maliciously prosecuted. Another administrator, David Grier, was in court last week seeking £5m from the Crown Office, and he also wants £9m from Police Scotland for wrongful arrest.
“The corporate action is the biggie,” said an insider on the case, “and will put the overall bill into tens
of millions”.
The intervention of Tomkins, the Conservative MSP who is due to stand down at the May elections, is hugely significant because he has the backing of his cross-party committee and is himself a professor of public law.
He wrote to Yousaf saying: “A variety of figures have been referred to in media coverage and I would like to request that you update the Committee on the sums involved, or which could be involved, so that we know the scale of the cost to the taxpayer.
“I have asked the Lord Advocate, in a separate letter, what sums COPFS will or could be paid out and whether these will be paid from existing budgets or would be additional sums. It would be helpful, therefore, if you could update the Committee on your understanding of which organisations (e.g. COPFS and Police Scotland) will be making compensation payments, how much is expected to be paid and from which budget lines?
“It would also be useful to know whether there are implications for the various budget lines within the justice remit or whether additional money has been provided by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance?”
Duff & Phelps told The National it would not be commenting.
COPFS said: “The Justice Committee will be responded to in due course. In addition, the Lord Advocate intends to make a statement to the Scottish Parliament when the actions raised by Mr Clark and Mr Whitehouse are concluded.
“A number of ongoing related court actions will restrict the scope of this statement. However, the Lord Advocate is committed to supporting public understanding of these cases and will provide as much information as he properly can.”
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