The Scottish Government has splashed out more than £5.8million in legal fees in the last five financial years, it has been revealed.
Figures released through a Freedom of Information request show that £5,803,131.77 was spent on legal advice.
The request asked for the money spent on advice that was only more than £50,000, therefore the overall amount spent over the time period is expected to be higher.
The most spent by the government was on a case involving Agricultural Holdings Landlord's Claims which cost £825,949.29 to the taxpayer.
However, more than £1m was used on a number of cases involving the collapse of Rangers Football Club.
Administrators David Whitehouse and Paul Clark were both awarded £10.5m in damages after they settled out of court with the Crown Office in December last year.
They were arrested in 2014 but all charges were later dropped.
The pair were wrongfully prosecuted during a probe into fraud regarding the sale of the Ibrox club.
Officials at the government spent a total of £937,284.83 on the Whitehouse (£510,223.98) and Clark (£427,060.83) cases.
While, the government spent £72,002 on advice on a case involving David Grier who was also related to the Rangers administration.
The business consultant was arrested in 2014, however was acquitted of all charges against him.
Grier is now suing the Lord Advocate and Police Scotland over claims he was wrongfully arrested.
He is suing for damages of £7m.
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It has now been revealed that the Scottish Government paid out £1,009,286.83 on obtaining advice on the fallout over the collapse of Rangers Football Club relating to the Whitehouse, Clark and Grier cases.
In another high profile case the Scottish Government spent £363,524.22 on getting advice regarding a dispute with Donald Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire and a wind farm off the coast.
The government spent £76,756.20 on legal fees regarding the extradition case of British businessman Zain Dean.
In March 2010 in Taiwan a biker was killed after being struck by Dean's car. He was sentenced to service four years in jail in the Asian country, however he fled the country before being sent to prison.
He later surfaced in Scotland. A court in Scotland in 2019 rejected an extradition appeal from Taiwanese authorities.
Freedom of Information request
1. In the last five financial years (inclusive of 2021/22), please provide the details of which matters counsel or legal advice was sought for any cumulative cost of legal fees of more than £50,000.
2. This should include live and closed matters, with "matters" taken to be a general description of the action, not the legal specifics, in a way which would eliminate any prejudice in disclosing the sums spent on the action.
Political reaction
Pauline McNeill, Scottish Labour's justice spokesperson, said: “The number of cases being brought against the Scottish Government and the huge sums being awarded against it are extremely worrying. The government has a right to defend itself but the vast sums incurred are nothing short of eye-watering.
“At a time when public finances are tight it is particularly egregious that failures from Government are resulting in millions of pounds being lost.
“With many excluded from taking legal action due to lack of funds, this extraordinary expense will come as a slap in the face.
“From the chaos with the SQA to the worrying acceleration in new Covid cases, each week exposes a new failure from the SNP and the avoidable legal costs being recorded by the Scottish Government are a stark testament to that.”
While Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said: “These astonishing figures lay bare the SNP Government’s colossal wasting of taxpayers money when trying to defend their positions in court.
“A fortune of public money has been lost as a result of the SNP continuing to plough on regardless and defending the indefensible in many high-profile cases.
“They knew that their case against Alex Salmond was doomed and the crown also continued to maliciously pursue innocent men in relation to Rangers administration.
“It shouldn’t have taken an FOI to highlight the millions blown on many cases that the SNP Government never stood a chance of winning. It highlights again their failures to be open and transparent with the public about how they are spending their money.
“Almost £6 million worth of funding has now been lost that should have been available to support vital jobs and livelihoods across Scotland.”
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.
Here is the breakdown of where the money was spent:
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