The Crown Office and the cover up

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The criminal justice system in Scotland (and south of the border) is on its knees.  It lacks funds to appropriately prosecute crime, this week I spoke to a shopkeeper who closed a business which flourished for decades, citing, among other things, the inability to deter shoplifters.

So what does this have to do with football?  We learned yesterday The Crown Office has increased its allocation to deal with the malicious prosecution of Rangers administrators and those who purchased the assets.  By March this year, £51.7m had been paid out, and additional £8.8m has been set aside to settle on-going matters.

The Crown Office have accepted they maliciously prosecuted people involved in the Rangers period in administration.  High barriers normally have to be overcome to get the Crown Office to prosecute anyone.  This case is remarkable in that it was pursued without necessary evidence, an inquiry – of sorts – will follow.

The headlines will explain that Newco Rangers’ founding director, Charles Green, was one of the victims, as well as insolvency practitioners and others involved around the time of the failure of Oldco and incorporation of Newco.  No one yet is calling out who went after them.  Why they went after them.  Or on whose behalf they went after them.  The latter question is perhaps the reason no subsequent prosecutions have taken place.

I have no time for Green, Duff and Phelps, Whyte or any of the other characters involved in this tale.  But, in 2012 and 2013 the Scottish media led a campaign against those who sold Rangers assets to the stakeholders of Sevco Scotland.  It was partisan and it was coordinated.  It went hand-in-hand with the malicious prosecutions.

Innocent people were harassed, arrested and subject to years of pressure.  The guilty sailed off into the sunset, untouched by the law.  There is a custom for civil actions (like this compensation episode) to be paused while criminal prosecutions take precedent, it never goes the other way around.

The Crown Prosecution Service would rather we all looked the other way.  News desks across the country know all about it because they were foot soldiers in the game.   They are limited in what they can do, but if they could find 10% of the agitation they used a decade ago, the powerful might think twice before opting for a cover up.

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363 Comments

  1. THE_HUDDLE on 18TH NOVEMBER 2023 9:46 PM

     

    France 14 – 0 Gibraltar

     

    ……………..

     

     

    I had a Bookie bet on for the correct score of 7 – 0 for France.

     

     

    So I was HALF Right….and also HALF Wrong.

     

     

    LOL

     

    HH

  2. Good morning all from Pollock contry park.

     

    The Grandson is playing footy.

     

     

    Mon the Easterhouse Academy.

     

     

    D :)

  3. DAVID66 on 19TH NOVEMBER 2023 8:50 AM

     

    Good morning all from Pollock contry park.

     

     

     

     

    The Grandson is playing footy.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Mon the Easterhouse Academy.

     

     

     

     

    ……………..

     

    MON the RILEY Bhoy.

     

     

    HH and good luck wee man.

     

    HH

  4. Didn’t realise Lawrence Shankland was 6ft 1in tall. Always thought he was around 5ft 6 or 7.

     

     

    He’d be a great signing but is Brendan interested? No idea.

  5. Think Shankland would be a decent signing but also agree that we should be capable of bringing someone better to the club.Who that would be I have no idea but that’s why we have scouts working on our behalf so asking posters who share that opinion to name someone better is rather silly.

  6. Prestonpans bhoys on

    THE HAND OF GOD on 19TH NOVEMBER 2023 10:03 AM

     

     

    Totally agree about the “name someone better” thing. As you said that’s why we employ scouts!

  7. Hand of God & Prestonpans

     

     

    Am pretty sure every fitba fan of every club the world over would like “someone better” so respectfully I think asking the ones who want better players to give us a few names who they would like to replace who we have now … not asking them to be scouts …

     

     

    But am sure you both realise that … or maybe not

  8. Prestonpans bhoys on

    Gftb

     

     

    Depends on the tone of the question, asking someone to name a few potential recruits is fine but some on here take umbrage if you don’t.

     

     

    You’re not included on that list 😉 anyway last day on holiday and it’s 30° already 🥵

  9. Prestonpans 10.58am

     

     

    Enjoy last day of your holiday …

     

     

    Baltic in the Brig so pretty sure it will be the same through in the East for your return … will probably be closer to -30 than 30 degrees when you touch down :-)

  10. Shankland would be an excellent signing.

     

    Good experience and proven goal scorer and ready to go. Not needing “to get up to speed” that you here so often.

     

    Would end up as second striker behind Kyogo.

     

    I don’t get this snobbery associated with signing Scottish players. Ferguson and Doig are 2 we missed out on.

  11. lets all do the huddle on

    I don’t get this snobbery associated with signing Scottish players. Ferguson and Doig are 2 we missed out on.

     

     

     

    its not so much about snobbery, its about quality.

     

     

    a few years ago plenty of fans – including P67 – were creaming themselves week in week out about the large number of scottish players we had in our starting XI despite the fact that the Scottish international team was one of the worst teams in Europe at the time.

     

     

    a totally failed stratgey at the time as i continually said on here in they days.

     

     

    luckily we mostly got over that obsession and are much better for it.

  12. To while away the hours, my pal and I set out to name our best Celtic team ever, a tough one for sure, as there are so many and we are long in the lugs.

     

     

    Here goes,

     

    Boruc, Jackie Mac Virgil McGrain, Murdoch, McStay, Jinky, McBride, Henke, Lubo and Lennox.

     

    There are many more I feel bad about but interesting to hear the comments, and I love Bobby Evans too.

     

     

    KINGLuBO

  13. KingLubo

     

     

    Only players I have saw in the flesh

     

     

    Fraser Foster (just ahead of Artur)

     

     

    Boyd Elliot Virgil Tierney

     

     

    Burns McStay Broony Lennon

     

     

    Henrik & Lubo

     

     

    With “hunners” on the bench

  14. Great people to have in your corner,when the chips are down,a wee post from FF,

     

     

    ” Yes the figures are not great,but some of the doom and gloom is way over the top,if we needed to,we could raise £ 25 million selling Cantwell and Danilo”

     

     

    Stupid is as stupid does.God help them.

  15. Again on Shankland,and I am not his agent,its not just OK saying “There must be better out there ,and its not our jobs to find them”. That is absolute nonsense.Shankland,a proven striker throughout his career at every level,maybe around 3.5- 4 million,at a guess.Knows the league,opponents,no moving countries or even house,no acclimatisation required,straight into the team when we would need him most.

     

    Where are the ” Worldwide scouting network” going to find someone like that.Nowhere is the answer,so that arguement goes out the window.

     

    Jota,on the other hand.If we do not make a serious enquiry about bringing him back in January,somebody needs fekin sacked.

  16. ...to the Western islands on

    KINGLUBO – 12:57 PM

     

     

    Far too many Scottish players in your selection, please remember if they’re Scottish they’re just no Celtic class so at most you’re allowed one as may be only one able to speak English after a fashion for coin calling duties.

  17. DAVID66 on 19TH NOVEMBER 2023 3:07 PM

     

    Big Jimmy – The wee man played well scored the 2nd of 2.

     

     

     

     

    Still the top scorer.

     

    ………………..

     

    MAGIC.

     

    Well done RILEY bhoy.

     

     

    HH