£24m bill for ex-Rangers administrators' legal claim

David Whitehouse (left) and Paul Clark (right) were awarded damages after being wrongfully prosecuted

The taxpayer will shell out more than £24m to settle a claim by two men wrongfully prosecuted during a fraud probe relating to the sale of Rangers.

Administrators David Whitehouse and Paul Clark settled out of court with the Crown Office in December.

The Crown Office has now revealed both men were awarded £10.5m damages, while legal costs will be at least £3m.

Scotland's most senior law officer has said there was no criminal misconduct in the failed fraud probe.

The Lord Advocate James Wolffe will make a statement on the case to Holyrood next week where he is expected to offer a public apology to both men.

Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark were appointed administrators when the company that ran the Glasgow club went into administration in 2012.

The pair were arrested in 2014 but the Crown has since said the prosecution which followed was "malicious".

Both men launched a £20m compensation claim over their prosecution and the matter was resolved out of court.

In a separate legal claim, both men previously settled with Police Scotland over their wrongful arrest.

The Lord Advocate James Wolffe has said he will make a statement to Holyrood next week

In a letter to Holyrood's justice committee, Mr Wolffe said Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark received £10.5m in damages each.

He explained: "Each of these pursuers was a very high-earning individual, and the settlement figure, in each case, reflected the actual loss which the pursuer was able to demonstrate had been caused to him by the wrongful prosecutions."

In addition, £3.08m has been paid out by the Crown Office to cover the former administrators' legal expenses to date but the final liability for these costs has not been calculated.

'Operational effectiveness'

There are other civil cases pending against the Lord Advocate arising from the same failed prosecution but these have not been concluded.

Mr Wolffe added that "arrangements have been made so that the settlement of these claims will not affect the operational effectiveness" of the Crown Office.

Last week, the Court of Session heard how Mr Whitehouse wants to pass on details from the civil case to any future investigations, such as a public inquiry, into the saga.

Roddy Dunlop QC, acting for Mr Whitehouse, said the businessman wanted answers about why he was arrested and prosecuted.

But the Crown Office said its investigations had "disclosed no criminal conduct" to date.