SHAMED former Rangers owner Craig Whyte was forced yesterday to read out a letter in court claiming he treated his wife “in an appalling way” and his Highland castle was a target for terrorists.
The correspondence, allegedly written by his former housekeeper, Jane Hagan, also said the bank was poised to repossess Castle Grant and that Mr Whyte could have been facing jail for his “illegal activities”.
Mr Whyte read the letter from the witness stand at Inverness Sheriff Court, where Hagan and fellow former castle worker Terence Horan are on trial.
The pair are accused of stealing items worth thousands of pounds from Castle Grant – the former football boss’s Highland home at Grantown – which he had discovered were missing when he returned from a holiday.
They deny the charges.
Mr Whyte appeared uncomfortable as he read the three-page letter – said to have been written by Hagan to a friend. It appears to lift the lid on the troubles he faced as his ill-fated time with the Ibrox club ended. Fiscal depute Heather Swan asked Mr Whyte, 42, to read the letter as it contained what the prosecution believes to be a “confession” by Hagan, 51, that items were being taken from the castle as the couple had not been paid.
The court heard the letter ended: “We are going to take some of the high-value things as it looks as if the bailiffs will take the rest and we want to be sure we don’t lose out.” The letter also said staff were given anti-terrorist training as the castle was a target for attacks.
Sheriff Gilchrist heard Horan, 54, had rented a storage container, which had been filled with a huge array of household items, some belonging to Mr Whyte and some to his estranged wife, Kim.
Mr Whyte and his wife had separated three years earlier and last year he noticed some items were missing from the castle, including a huge kitchen table.
He said he had discovered more things missing when he returned from a holiday with his two children, and his wife said she had not taken them.
Whyte made a list of the missing items and alerted the police, the court was told. His housekeeper and caretaker were nowhere to be found and he had to hire a locksmith to break into his own home before changing the locks.
Mr Whyte and his then girlfriend searched the building and found a computer, with the letter allegedly written by Hagan beside it. Police obtained a search warrant and many of the items were found in a container at Grantown belonging to Hagan and Horan, who now live at Bicester, Oxfordshire.
Mr Whyte told the court: “I was with the police and pointed out some things which belonged to either myself or my wife. I did not order their removal, nor did I instruct anyone to store them or hide them.”
He also denied tampering with the letter. “I didn’t doctor it, edit or make changes to it,” he said.
The trial was adjourned until October 23, when Mr Whyte will be questioned by defence solicitors.
Mr Whyte then moved from the witness box to the dock to answer a contempt-of-court allegation for failing to appear for the trial when it had been due to start on June 10.
A warrant had been issued for his arrest but never executed and an arranged attendance was fixed.
His lawyer, Paul Kavanagh, apologised on Mr Whyte’s behalf and said the non-appearance was not wilful but “a genuine misunderstanding.”
Sheriff Gilchrist took no further action and made no finding of contempt – but he warned Mr Whyte that he had to attend court to finish his evidence.