EWAN’S HIDDEN BATTLE
On 15 May 1967, the journalist George Watts attempted to report on a mysterious case being heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Scotland’s most senior civil court. But when he contacted the court officials for more information, he was met with a wall of silence. “There were clearly instructions ‘from above’ that we in the media were to be told nothing,” he would later recall.
All Watts knew was that it involved a dispute over the inheritance of a baronetcy, and when the verdict was announced on 6 December 1968, he shared his anger at the lack of transparency in an article for the Glasgow Herald: “Disquiet over Forbes-Sempill case secrecy.”
He may not have known it at the time, but Watts’ short report would later prove vital in revealing the story of a secret legal battle that rocked the British establishment. Deliberately kept out of public sight, the case would have shocking consequences for many decades to come. But what exactly was it about? And why would it end up having such dire implications?
