The doomed Rangers fraud probe is getting murkier by the day.
Now a judge has ruled there was “no probable cause” to go after David Grier following allegations about business activities.
It’s the latest escalation of a scandal which has placed huge question marks over the actions of the country’s legal establishment.
Grier is suing the Lord Advocate, saying prosecutors had no evidence to justify being arrested and charged.
He was cleared of any wrongdoing after a probe surrounding the club’s financial position in the past decade.
The judge’s conclusion about Grier follows the wrongful pursuit of David Whitehouse and Paul Clark – who are now getting a settlement of £10.5million each.
Former Rangers executive Charles Green was told he’ll get damages too for the Crown’s “malicious” prosecution against him.
It has been estimated the bill to the taxpayer will eventually come to more than £100million.
This is an astronomical sum when the country needs to count every penny.
The Lord Advocate has already had to apologise for this fiasco in the Scottish Parliament but it’s clearly not going to stop at that.
It is far from over and the costs are multiplying.
This sorry saga has exposed a shambles and undermined faith in Scotland’s prosecution service.
The final cost is going to be weighed in more than just pounds and pence.
There should be a public inquiry into the whole fiasco to ensure nothing like it happens again.
Baby steps first
Scotland’s lockdown carries on, a year after the pandemic started to make itself known on these shores.
It’s been a long and weary slog, with heartbreak for so many people.
Yesterday, a glimmer of light appeared as the fine balancing act of restrictions and freedoms was tweaked for the first time in weeks.
Schools will reopen to younger children next week, allowing a sliver of normality to return.
But this is a trade-off, as Nicola Sturgeon put it.
The rest of Scotland must continue to take the rules seriously and take baby steps out of this crisis.
Children’s education is paramount and it has been damaged by lockdown restrictions.
But with care and yet more patience, this is the route we have to take out of the pandemic.
We cannot afford to take any more backwards steps.
