Judge throws out breakaway group's bid to strip Free Church of millions in assets

Edinburgh, Scotland - A BREAKAWAY group which claimed to be the true Free Church of Scotland lost a court action yesterday over millions of pounds in church assets.

The body had been established in the wake of a high-profile prosecution of a senior theologian who was later acquitted of charges of molesting women.

More than 20 ministers continued to express dissatisfaction with the investigation of the case and were suspended for life by the church’s hierarchy. They then formed the group, termed the "continuing" faction. A judge was asked to rule that the majority who had remained after the split - the "residuals" - broke a basic principle of the Free Church and should be stripped of assets including pension funds, shares, office buildings and the church college in Edinburgh.

However, Lady Paton rejected the claim. She said she was unable to identify any way in which the "residuals" had failed to adhere to the fundamental tenets of the church.

"Accordingly, the Free Church (Residual) are in my view fully entitled to the assets and property held in trust," Lady Paton added. In 1996, Professor Donald Macleod, a senior member of the church and a leading moderniser, was acquitted of sexual offences against four women. A sheriff said Prof Macleod had been the victim of a campaign orchestrated by other church members.

A group of traditionalists who had supported those involved in bringing the case against Prof Macleod were eventually suspended over their protests, leading to the formation of the breakaway church.

During the case, Lady Paton was taken through a history of the Free Church from its formation in 1843.