Prosecutors have dropped five charges against the former administrators of oldco Rangers in the multi-million-pound fraud case.

David Whitehouse and Paul Clark are facing trial alongside former owner Craig Whyte, 44, ex-chief executive Charles Green, 62, and three other men over a number of charges relating to their dealings with the club.

Whyte, Green and David Grier have also had allegations against them dropped. Charges seven, eight and nine, which alleged Whyte and Grier obtained thousands of pounds from Rangers by fraud were also deserted. Green has now also been deleted from charge 12.

The indictment has now been reduced from 15 charges to nine.

The Duff and Phelps employees had the charges against them deserted by the Crown during a preliminary hearing at court in Edinburgh on Friday.

David Grier, Gary Withey, 51, and Imran Ahmad also face a number of charges relating to their dealings with the club.

Clark and Whitehouse still face two charges but charges one, four, ten, 11 and 13 on the 28-page indictment have been deserted.

The pair were accused in, charge one, of conspiring with Whyte and three other men to obtain by fraud a controlling stake in Rangers.

Whitehouse and Clark were accused of involvment in serious organised crime in charge four and in charge ten were accused of making the administration of Rangers "inevitable" as well as failing to pay a £2.8m tax liability and receiving £6m from Ticketus LLP.

They were also accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice in charges 11 and 13. The charges have now been dropped.