Craig Whyte’s Counsel in the Ticketus Case Had Been Knighted – Can You Guess By Whom?

The case raised by Ticketus LLP and Ticketus 2 LLP against Craig Whyte has been won by the plaintiffs. I will be writing about the judgement and what it tells us, if anything, about the future of Rangers, over the next couple of days.

I noticed a fact about the case which is of no significance but which, in the fevered imaginations of some, might provoke alarm, concern or conspiracy theories galore.

There is already a theory I have seen going round the blue bits of the internet (and to be fair not the more sensible end) noting that Craig Whyte was represented both personally and for his company by Harper MacLeod.

As we know Harper MacLeod have a special place in hell reserved for them, at least in the eyes of some Rangers fans, for having the temerity to act for the SPL in the case against Rangers before the Nimmo Smith Commission.

I saw this advanced as “proof” that Celtic, who have also made use of Harper MacLeod’s excellent services, were in fact behind the whole Whyte takeover as a means of sabotaging their rivals! The amount of influence credited to Peter Lawwell is remarkable!

So, after that preamble, would you believe that Mr Whyte’s representative in the Ticketus case was also someone with connections which might upset a few of the Rangers fanatics?

His barrister was Mark Watson-Gandy. He is described on his chambers’ website as follows:-

Mark practices in the areas of insolvency, company, banking and private international law. He is the author of “Watson-Gandy on Accountants”, “Corporate Insolvency Practice” and “Personal Insolvency Practice”. He is one of the Editors of the Butterworths Corporate Law Service.

He is a Visiting Professor at the University of Westminster and a Visiting Lecturer at Cass Business School, City University.

He was a finalist in Credit Today magazine’s Insolvency and Rescue awards in 2009 and 2010 as “Barrister of the Year” and Acquisition International magazine voted him in their M&A Awards 2012 “Insolvency Barrister of the Year”.

He is undoubtedly a high-quality lawyer and one who would have given Mr Whyte the best possible representation possible.

But none of the above is what might provoke some ire. For that you need to go to the next section:-

His Holiness Pope Benedict knighted him in recognition of “his work as a barrister and law professor for the Catholic Church” in 2007 (Knight of the Order of St Gregory of the Great).

Yes. The former Chairman of Rangers and the “owner” of the club was represented at court by a Papal Knight!

One would have feared for the sanity of some of the more “traditional” Rangers fans if that had happened whilst he was still ensconced in the “Blue Room”!

(Of course the vast, vast majority of Rangers fans would not have a problem with that at all, but there is a small corner of the internet where people gather and in which such a decision regarding representation would be taken as tantamount to a betrayal.)

Posted by Paul McConville