A LONDON civil servant who styled himself the Laird of Tomintoul was

last night starting a seven-and-half-year prison sentence.

Anthony Williams, 55, who had lived the high-life with #5m he had

stolen from Scotland Yard, is now penniless, friendless, and in a state

of shock following the sentence.

In a mad-cap property buying spree in and around Tomintoul, Williams

spent vast sums on the renovation and refurbishment of buildings he

purchased from money stolen from the Metropolitan Police.

He bought himself a barony and thereafter called himself Lord. He

brought employment to the Highlands, but in the wake of his disgrace he

has left scores of local suppliers desperately trying to recoup money he

owed, a judge at the Central Criminal Court was told yesterday.

Yesterday the documentation was completed on a deal with the company

Williams set up, Tomintoul Enterprises Ltd, which will give the 56 trade

creditors 60p in the pound.

As Williams was taken to the cells a broken man from Court No 7 at the

Old Bailey, there was bewilderment over how Scotland Yard, which prides

itself as being one of the most professional police forces in the world,

could have been robbed of such vast sums over an 11-year period.

During that time Williams had lived the life of a millionaire on a

final salary at his arrest of #42,790.

It began as small-scale embezzlement from a Metropolitan Police

charity fund, to pay off debts from a broken marriage, but developed

into a #600,000 year earner for the deputy establishment officer at the

Yard when he was given sole charge of running an account for a long-term

undercover operation.

Yesterday Williams pleaded guilty to 19 speciman charges of theft. He

asked for 535 others to be taken into account.

Scotland Yard was at a loss to explain last night why one man was put

in the extraordinary position of being in sole charge of a special fund

financing a long-term top secret operation into serious organised crime.

That operation is on-going and has not been compromised, according to

sources.

The court was told that such was the security and secrecy of the

Scotland Yard operation that employees in the finance department could

not be told where the money was going. Williams was enabled to draw vast

sums on his own signature without question and he was the only person

who had any notion of the operation's outgoings.

Of the #7,413,761 Williams had requisitioned for the investigation, he

kept more than #5m for himself.

Much of it was spent on buying property in the Highlands and on

renovating and refurbishing that property.

His first investment in the town was for what was described as a

cottage at 2 The Square which cost him #6000. However, renovation and

other expenses meant that he spent a further #400,000 on the building.

Other investments in Tomintoul meant buying property at 39 The Square

for #15,000 and then spending #750,000 to develop it into a restaurant.

He also bought Gordon Lodge for #85,000 and the old bus garage for

#25,000.

In June 1993 he bought the Gordon Arms Hotel for #120,000. He employed

an able manager, and extensive plans for refurbishment and modernisation

were drawn up.

That hotel has since been sold at a low price on the understanding

that the new owner took on the debts for suppliers of furnishings and

carpeting, the court was told.

Williams also bought the Old Fire Station that same year for #21,500.

''What evolved was a double life,'' said Mr Brian Barker, QC,

prosecuting.

Williams had created a new world for himself from the money stolen. He

had bought the Barony of Chirnside, Berwickshire, at an auction in

London and thereafter described himself as Lord Williams.

''The London suburban civil servant became -- when he crossed the

Border into Scotland -- the nobleman and benefactor of Tomintoul.''

However, counsel pointed out, the local people had taken him at face

value. Unknown to them it was stolen money that kept the new Land Rover

at Inverness airport and brought jobs and revitalisation ''to a pretty

Highland village''.

His wife had also been kept in the dark over where the money was

coming from. When explanations were required, and that was not often, it

was put down to a bequest from a relative in Norway.

During yesterday's hearing, Williams sat in the dock with his chin

resting in his hands. Dressed in sober lounge suit, blue striped shirt,

and red tie, he looked every bit the civil servant he was.

Until now he had been on bail. As a consquence his face was suntanned

and he had brought with him a hold-all

continued on Page 7and plastic carrier bags containing all he had been

told he might take with him to jail.

When he left the dock for the cells he left his bags for the security

officer to carry them -- that was until he was called back and politely

told that from now on he might not necessarily expect the services of

servile bearers.

There was no doubting the disbelief in the voice of the Recorder of

London, Sir Lawrence Verney, as he passed sentence. There was no

questioning the shock expressed by Williams when it was delivered.

''It is to be hoped that never again will any individual, however

highly respected, be put in a comparable situation in regard to public

money,'' the judge said.

The accused had been given an immense degree of trust to receive and

make payments without supervision. He had grossly abused this time and

time again.

Even before he had been put in charge of this special budget, Williams

had been stealing from the charity fund.

''The money stolen was wholly used for personal advantage in a

luxurious lifestyle and the acquisition of properties and businesses,''

the judge said. ''The aggrandisement was shown in the assumption of a

baronial title.''

William's legal team made it clear that, while most of his friends had

now disowned him, his second wife, Kay, would stand by him and wait

until he was released from prison to take up their life again.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon later told

journalists that he was deeply embarrassed and angry over the whole

scandal.

Neverthless, no-one had resigned or been dismissed in connection with

the thefts but disciplinary proceedings had not been ruled out.

Mr Graham Angel, the Receiver of the Metropolitan Police and the most

senior civil servant in the force, said just #1m was likely to be

recovered out of the #5m Williams stole.

Asked how Williams had been able to get away with it for 11 years, Sir

Paul said: ''Part of the reason was because this was a man who led his

life in compartments.''

He kept the different compartments separate and hid them from his

family, friends, and colleagues.

Earlier, in a statement Sir Paul said the nature of some police work

needed to be kept confidential in the very necessary job of preventing

the most serious and organised crime and catching the country's most

serious criminals.

Williams had used his position and the cover of confidentiality to

commit fraud.

The police commissioner added: ''Confidentiality must never be an

excuse for inadequate financial controls. Immediately this fraud came to

light a full audit of all financial procedures and controls in respect

of confidential operations was instigated,'' he said.

''The review had established that there was no evidence of any other

theft, corruption or fraud and there were no similar weaknesses in the

financial controls of other accounts.''