FORMER Rangers chief executive Charles Green has this morning reached an out of court settlement in his malicious prosecution case against the Lord Advocate of Scotland.

The previous Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, admitted the June 2015 prosecution against Green was malicious and issued a formal apology.

Green settled out of court for £6.4 million plus his legal costs which are understood to be in seven figures. In the Court of Session this morning, Lord Tyre approved the settlement which halted an expected eight day hearing at the last minute.   

The taxpayer will require to fund these costs on top of the £24m-plus which James Wolffe confirmed to the Scottish Parliament had been paid earlier this year after The National’s exclusive revelations in January of the size of the unprecedented bill for the malicious prosecutions of Rangers’ administrators Paul Clark and David Whitehouse.

With payments to former Rangers director Imran Ahmed, who also received an apology, and with Rangers administration firm Duff and Phelps suing the Lord Advocate for a reported £25m, and with cases to come against Police Scotland, though not from Green, the bill for the whole scandal will be in the tens of millions, not counting the sums expended by the Crown Office and Police Scotland on the investigations and malicious prosecutions.

READ MORE: Crown Office opposes release of files in £24 million Rangers prosecution case

New Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain QC has recused (stood aside) herself from these cases due to her previous involvement with solicitors who acted for Duff and Phelps. The Crown Office will follow on from her predecessor’s statement to Parliament that an inquiry will be held into the whole saga which arose from Rangers going into administration and liquidation in 2012 under the previous owner Craig Whyte, who was taken to court in 2017 but found not guilty on fraud charges. It is understood that a judge from outside Scotland will lead the inquiry.

Law firm Jones Whyte have represented Green throughout the court case.

Speaking today after the settlement had been reached Greg Whyte, managing partner of Jones Whyte, commented: “Following a highly distressing and turbulent ordeal for Mr Green, which has lasted for six years, he is satisfied that we have been able to reach this settlement today, which goes someway to rectify the significant losses suffered by Mr Green as a result of the Crown Offices malicious prosecution against him.

“He is relieved to now be able to move on with his life and put the episode behind him.”

A spokesperson for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “The previous Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC made a statement in the Scottish Parliament and committed the Crown to further public accountability and a process of inquiry once all litigation has concluded.

“There are long-standing and robust processes in place to minimise the possibility that wrongful prosecutions are brought.

“We have strengthened these through the introduction of case management panels which provide an additional layer of scrutiny and direction from senior prosecutors."

 

The Crown Office and Police Scotland have been approached for comment.