The inhuman face of malicious prosecution is revealed

It is a shocking account that will horrify and appal many of our readers. David Whitehouse, whose promising career was derailed by his arrest and imprisonment, has spoken to the Scottish Daily Mail about the shameful episode.

Mr Whitehouse had been an insolvency expert with Duff & Phelps when he began work on a fraud investigation revolving around the takeover of Rangers.

But in a bizarre twist of fate, he would find himself in a police cell as he faced his own fraud charges, along with his colleague Paul Clark; charges that were later dropped after the Crown Office admitted its prosecutions had been “malicious”. 

It is understood that the pair have been paid £10 million each with legal expenses on top in an out-of-court settlement.

Mr Whitehouse, 55, told the Mail: “The whole process has been shocking, utterly horrendous – akin to torture. I use the analogy that I’ve been subjected to a sustained malicious assault by the state for six years.

“Whilst I have been economically compensated for the damage caused to my career, I have seen no evidence that anything has been done to prevent this happening to others less fortunate and less able to defend themselves.”

Mr Whitehouse’s surreal story began after Craig Whyte started the process of buying Rangers in 2011 and Duff & Phelps gave him some financial advice. The same firm was appointed to deal with the club upon administration. Mr Whitehouse contacted police over concerns surrounding the cash used to buy the club. The events that followed ultimately resulted in Mr Whitehouse being arrested twice at his home in dawn raids in 2014 and 2015.

His lawyers argued in the High Court that there was no evidence against him. Five charges were withdrawn and a judge dismissed a further two. He spent a total of six days in prison.

He said: “I’d never even been in a police station prior to my arrest in November 2014.

“My treatment was horrific and entirely contrary to the principles of natural justice, central to which is a presumption of innocence.

“I would be horrified if all suspects were treated as I was in Scotland. There wasn’t a bed in my cell so I slept on a concrete floor, in total for six days. Every hour an officer opens a flap in the door to check if you’re OK because they think you might be a suicide risk.

“It is impossible to sleep, you are not allowed to wash, other than immediately prior to a court appearance. Sleep is near impossible, the cell had no window and no bed. I was denied essential medication as I suffer from high blood pressure. To my mind, you wouldn’t treat a terrorist – or any human being – like that.”

His bank accounts were frozen just before Christmas that year, preventing his family from buying any presents and he received a visit from police who told him of a threat to his family, yet who refused him permission to speak to them.

Mr Whitehouse told the newspaper: “Whilst in prison I had a visit from the anti-terrorist police, who monitor football-related sectarian activity, to tell me they had intelligence my family were in danger.

“I pleaded to be able to telephone them, my lawyers or work colleagues to check upon their safety and was told, ‘No, you can’t’.

“I recall vividly asking, ‘Why have you told me then? This is akin to torture’. That was met with a sarcastic shrug.

“Why would any decent-minded person come to visit a prisoner on a Saturday to tell them of intelligence, effectively from fan websites, that my family were in danger, knowing that it would have no effect other than to exponentially increase my anxiety?”

For more than a month, three security guards stayed at Mr Whitehouse’s home over fears of a “real and probable” risk of attack. A Police Scotland spokesman said of the claims: “We have reached an agreement to resolve this dispute and, as part of that agreement, will make no further comment.”

Inevitably, Mr Whitehouse lost his role at Duff & Phelps. He did, however, remain with the firm in a different role and is now a consultant for the company.

And his fight is nowhere near over.

He said: “I don’t understand on what basis you can wilfully and maliciously prosecute somebody without crossing the boundaries of misconduct in public office and criminality. That is a complaint I am seeking to make before the court on February 4.”