A company director and a council employee have walked free from court after being acquitted of bribery charges over the awarding of £2 million of local authority work.
Alistair McGowan, 67, and Mark Rankine, 53, were told they could leave the High Court in Edinburgh after a jury returned unanimous not proven verdicts on the claims. The pair were standing trial after prosecutors claimed the pair breached the Bribery Act 2010.
The Crown claimed that Mr McGowan, a director of a firm called MM Repair Services Ltd, gave a "financial advantage" of £131,652.90 to his co-accused, a Midlothian Council employee. It was claimed this was to "reward" Mr Rankine for the company being awarded work to the value of £2,071,250.28 from Midlothian Council.
