A leaked email from a high court judge has revealed that Rangers administrators David Whitehouse and Paul Clark should never have received £21 million in taxpayers' money, as their prosecution was not malicious. The memo, written by Lord Mulholland and obtained by the Sunday Mail, shows he was left 'incredulous' at the Crown Office's decision to admit wrongdoing in one of Scotland's biggest legal scandals.
Background of the Case
Whitehouse and Clark, from the firm Duff and Phelps, were appointed as administrators in 2012 when Rangers collapsed after being bought by Craig Whyte. They were arrested in 2014 along with several other businessmen, but all charges were later dropped. In August 2020, former Lord Advocate James Wolffe settled a malicious prosecution case brought by the administrators, agreeing to pay £21 million in damages. The total cost to the public purse, including other payouts and legal costs, has now exceeded £50 million.
Lord Mulholland's Objections
In his email, Mulholland, who led the Crown Office at the time of the prosecutions and later became a senior judge, strongly criticized Wolffe's decision. He stated: 'The evidence in this case points to fraudulent behaviour on the part of all accused involving many millions of pounds... This is why I expressed surprise (now incredulity) at the decision to settle the case on the basis of a malicious prosecution.' He defended the original prosecution, saying: 'There was a clear sufficiency of evidence. It is not finely balanced.'
Mulholland detailed evidence he believed justified the case, including a notebook from law firm Collyer Bristow outlining a 'fraudulent scheme' and an email from Duff and Phelps stating: 'The guy who bought hasn't got a f****** clue - no plan, no strategy, did very little DD (due diligence).' He added: 'I did nothing wrong, nor did I see any wrongful (or negligent) behaviour amongst the prosecution team.'
Reactions and Calls for Inquiry
David Whitehouse responded: 'The attempt by Mulholland to obfuscate responsibility for his behaviour shouldn't surprise anyone... What is of greatest importance is that the long awaited promised public inquiry takes place without further delay.' David Grier, another businessman who had charges dropped, said a public inquiry might be needed to 'uncover who knew what and why decisions were made.'
Scottish Tory MSP Stephen Kerr said: 'This has been abysmally mishandled by the SNP and, because of their habitual secrecy, the public may never know the truth.' The Crown Office stated: 'Following a detailed review of the case, the Lord Advocate accepted that there had been significant departures from the normal practices... The Crown supports a process of inquiry into what happened.'
