SCOTS legal aid chiefs have defended procedures after it emerged the cost to the taxpayer of former Rangers owner Craig Whyte's defence his fraud trial amounts to more than his QC earned from the public purse for the whole of one year.

Scottish Legal Aid Board has come under fire after records showed that the total paid to date in legal assistance to solicitors and counsel in fees and outlays in relation to Craig Whyte’s trial was £299,000.

But it is believed the costs could rise by even further by £200,000.

Mr Findlay, the flamboyant lawyer who successfully defended Mr Whyte against an allegation of taking over the Glasgow football club by fraud in May 2011, was named as Scotland's highest legal-aid earning advocates last year with payments from the public purse totalling £288,000 in 2015.

Mr Whyte was acquitted of fraud in his takeover of Rangers and not guilty of a second charge of financial assistance. A jury of eight men and seven women took two hours to return a majority verdict on both charges.

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News of the legal aid bill has shocked a victim support group, in the wake of his first introduction to Rangers fans as a "billionaire with wealth off the radar", as he sought to buy the club from Sir David Murray. But SLAB has insited that the application met the criteria which cover the financial circumstances of the individuals. If disposable income is £222 or less, the applicant is eligible on income.

SLAB criteria sates: "Our overriding aim is to assess each individual applicant’s actual ability to pay, identifying applicants who genuinely cannot afford to meet their defence costs while excluding those who can."

Mr Whyte’s reign as Rangers owner after his successful £1 bid lasted just nine months, as the business went into administration and is now in liquidation.

The former Rangers owner, who took over the club with the help of his Virgin Isles-based business Liberty Capital Limited,  had been declared bankrupt in October, 2015 in the wake of losing a damages claim by ticketing firm Ticketus.

The firm successfully sued the 44-year-old in 2013 in relation to a dispute with Mr Whyte over the three-year season ticket right purchase agreement used to help Mr Whyte buy Rangers.

The bankruptcy petition was filed after Mr Whyte failed to pay a judgment debt worth some £20 million, including interest and legal costs. The bankruptcy order was lifted in October, last year, after co-operating with his trustee, Louise Brittain, one of Britain’s leading bankruptcy experts.

David Hines, a spokesman for the National Victims’ Association, said the legal funding system needed "overhauled".

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"My head just shakes with anger and bewilderment at the legal aid system," he said.

"To me it's outrageous, absolutely outrageous. I don't understand how if  he was able to buy a football club he can be granted legal aid.

"Then the poor taxpayer has to subsidise this. It's wrong."

Mr Hines set up the charity after his daughter Marie, 23, was beaten and strangled by her former partner by former partner Anthony Davison in Tyne and Wear in 1992, leaving a son Lee, who turned two the day after his mother died.

He remains embittered that the killer, who was jailed for life the following year, was granted legal aid, and yet he was refused the same when spending the next three years fighting and winning custody of their grandson against Davison. The killer, who opposed the adoption and wanted access, was given legal aid to take his claim right up to the Supreme Court.

As well as the emotional trauma, he says he had to spend his life savings in the legal fight.

"I am fed up with the legal aid system in this country. It needs overhauled," he added.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Legal Aid Board said: “When assessing an applicant’s eligibility for legal aid we look at their financial position at the time of their application to ensure they meet tests set by the Scottish Parliament.

“This includes information they give us about their salary, the amount of money they have in the bank and any investments.

“If an applicant has no income they must provide an explanation about how they are supported. If they are supported by family or friends they must advise us of this.

“Craig Whyte’s application met the tests we have to apply when deciding whether to grant legal aid.”