FORMER Rangers owner Craig Whyte was jeered by fans as he left Glasgow Sheriff Court after he appeared in the dock charged over his 2011 takeover of the club.

Looking significantly slimmer than during his ill-fated Ibrox reign, the previously clean-shaven businessman arrived at court with a goatee beard and slicked-back hair after a night in police custody. He made no comment before being driven away.

Mr Whyte, 43, has been released on bail but was required to surrender his passport. He was arrested at Heathrow Airport on Thursday after returning from Mexico, where he had been refused entry.

He stands accused of plotting a fraudulent takeover of Rangers, allegedly bankrolling the purchase of the club by selling off three years of season ticket money to London-based Ticketus while pretending to then owner Sir David Murray he was using his own money. Rangers went into administration in February 2012, nine months after Mr Whyte's takeover.