Robert had been in Scotland to visit his legal team in preparation for his court appearance on a Breach Of The Peace charge later this month.
He had planned to call Elish Angiolini, the former Lord Advocate of Scotland as a defence witness, due to her close connections to both his own case, and that of Hollie Greig. However during today's meeting, Senior Counsel Gary Allen QC took the view that Ms Angiolini's presence in the witness box would damage Robert's case. Mr Allen felt that Ms Angiolini would simply refuse to answer any question that might incriminate her and would likely have the sheriff`s support for her position.
Robert's view is that whilst he has no realistic expectation of her breaking down and confessing under cross-examination, her appearance will be in the general interest (and his as a defendant) and she should be seen to be evading important questions connected to justice and public finances.
Mr Allen was adamant that his professional advice should be followed, so Robert felt he had no option but to part company with his Legal Counsel straight away.
In a telephone call yesterday evening, Robert said that he is not calling into question Mr Allen's professionalism, but this was an impasse which could not be resolved.
It is likely the case will now have to be ajourned until Robert can find new representation.