A leading lawyer who was subjected to death threats after sitting in judgment on Rangers has gone bankrupt with debts of more than £200,000.

Gary Allan QC, who has represented some of the country's most notorious criminals, was declared insolvent after failing to settle large bills.

The 56-year-old advocate has more than 30 years' experience as a lawyer and is regarded as one of Scotland's finest legal minds.

In 2012, he was subjected to death threats after sitting on an SFA disciplinary panel which punished Rangers for bringing Scottish football into disrepute.

His clients have included wife killer Malcolm Webster and Ashok Kalyanjee, who murdered his two young sons.

It has now emerged that Mr Allan applied for his own bankruptcy after running up debts of £206,374 and it was approved by the Accountant In Bankruptcy, Scotland's insolvency service, earlier this month.

Bryan Jackson, of insolvency specialists BDO, has been appointed to take control of his assets and try to recover money owed to creditors.

Mr Allan, who received more than £109,000 in legal aid payments last year, has declared assets of just £9,964.

It is understood that the bankruptcy will not affect his ability to continue to carry out legal work and appear in court.

The Faculty of Advocates, which regulates the conduct of its members, said it does not class bankruptcy as a disciplinary issue.

It has not been disclosed who Mr Allan owes the cash to as his bankruptcy did not go through the courts.

In October 2012, Mr Allan told how he had been given advice from Special Branch and anti-terrorist officers after police found evidence of various threats being made against him by groups with links to Rangers.

He sat on the three-man SFA panel which handed Rangers a 12-month transfer embargo and a £160,000 fine.

He also criticised Rangers manager Ally McCoist who, when the punishments were announced, publicly called for the names of the panel which were supposed to remain anonymous, to be made known.

He said then: "I wasn't ready for my family to be exposed to that and that caused me a lot of anxiety. We were given a full briefing on mail handling. I was told there would be certain items which I should under no circumstances open if they were not from a familiar source.

"I was told I should take mail into the smallest secure room with the fewest windows and have the family somewhere else in the house whilst I opened the mail.

"I was astonished when I saw a recording of Mr McCoist demanding the names be disclosed and declaring he did not know who they were, and felt he ought to know."

Mr Allan has been a solicitor for 34 years and was appointed a QC in 2007.

He was involved in the fatal accident inquiry into the Lockerbie air crash and last year represented Philip Wade, who was convicted of abducting, torturing and murdering Lynda Spence.

He served as a Senior Advocate Depute in the Crown Office between 2007 and 2011, prosecuting cases in the High Court.

He also acts as a professional mentor to 32 advocates and is also one of the founding directors of Casus Omissus, a pro bono legal advice service established and run by the law students of the University of Aberdeen

A spokesman for the Faculty of Advocates said: "Sequestration in itself is not a disciplinary matter for the Faculty."

Mr Allan said: "I have no comment to make."