Wolffe apologises to two ex-Rangers chiefs for charges

The Lord Advocate has sent a written apology to two more men wrongly prosecuted in connection with the financial affairs surrounding Rangers Football Club.

In a statement concerning the High Court prosecution between 2015 and 2016 of former Rangers chief executive Charles Green and former director Imran Ahmad, James Wolffe QC said: "They should not have been prosecuted and, as Lord Advocate and head of the system for the prosecution of crime in Scotland, I have apologised unreservedly that they were.

"I made a statement to the Scottish Parliament following the settlement of two related cases, and I said at that time that there had been profound departures from normal practice.

"Lessons have been learned from what happened and the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has taken steps to prevent a similar situation arising in the future."

Mr Wolffe, who was not Lord Advocate at the time the charges were brought, did not detail what lessons had been learned, but added: "I have given a commitment that there will be a judge-led inquiry into these matters once all relevant legal cases have concluded.

"The actions by Mr Ahmad and Mr Green continue with a view to settlement of their financial claims."

Similar claims by Rangers' joint administrators David Whitehouse and Paul Clark, also arising from prosecutions which the Lord Advocate has now accepted were wrongful, have been settled at a cost in the region of £24m.

The Crown has said that the basis for the Lord Advocate's acceptance of liability will be made public when related legal proceedings are no longer pending, and that "significant steps" have been taken to safeguard against similar situations arising, with new arrangements for managing complex cases and additional oversight.