Denise Clair seeks permission for private prosecution of David Goodwillie

Denise Clair has asked the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh for permission to bring a private criminal prosecution against former Scotland footballer David Goodwillie, BBC News reported on Thursday. Judges heard competing arguments over the Crown's decision not to prosecute him and will issue their judgment later. The hearing concerns whether a prosecution can proceed; it is not itself a criminal trial.

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Clair's lawyer, Thomas Ross KC, argued that prosecutors had been wrong to drop rape charges on the grounds of insufficient evidence. He told Lord Pentland, Lord Matthews and Lady Carmichael that the available material could have supported a prosecution with a reasonable prospect of conviction. Ross characterised the earlier decision as irrational, presenting that argument as the basis for allowing the exceptional step of a private prosecution.

The Crown disputed his position. Alan Cameron KC said prosecutors had been entitled to decide against bringing the case after considering all the evidence. He argued that there were no exceptional circumstances justifying the issue of criminal letters. According to the BBC, the court heard that Clair's lawyers face a demanding legal threshold: showing that the original decision was one no reasonable prosecutor could have made.

A separate civil case in 2017 found that Goodwillie and his former Dundee United teammate David Robertson had raped Clair at a flat in Armadale, West Lothian, in January 2011. Both men had denied the allegations. Lord Armstrong, sitting at the Court of Session, ordered them to pay £100,000 in damages. That civil finding is distinct from the criminal proceedings Clair is now seeking permission to initiate against Goodwillie.

Goodwillie's lawyer, Lord Stewart of Dirleton KC, argued that the requirements for a private prosecution had not been met. He also challenged the proposed use of Goodwillie's evidence from the civil proceedings. His position was that using that testimony would be unfair because it had been given after the Lord Advocate had renounced the right to prosecute, without a warning that a subsequent criminal case might follow.

Goodwillie made three appearances for Scotland and played for clubs including Dundee United, Blackburn Rovers and Aberdeen. His 2022 move to Raith Rovers prompted resignations and the withdrawal of shirt sponsorship by author Val McDermid; the club later released him. At the current hearing, Lord Pentland said the judges would consider the submissions before delivering a judgment. No decision on Clair's application was reported.