A CHEF who claims he was sacked for closing a hotel on the night Alistair Wilson, the banker, was murdered has settled a claim for unfair dismissal with his former employer.

Stuart Wright shut the Havelock hotel early because he felt it was the right thing to do after Mr Wilson was gunned down across the street.

Mr Wilson's wife Veronica, 33, ran to the Havelock for help as her husband lay dying at the entrance to their home in Nairn, Moray.

However, the decision to close the hotel led to the 44year-old chef being dismissed by Andy Burnett, the owner, who did not consider it his place to close the premises.

Mr Wright's claim for unfair dismissal was to be heard by an employment tribunal in Inverness yesterday but it emerged that Mr Burnett and Mr Wright had settled the claim

Mr Wright, who was twice offered his old job back at the Havelock, refused to comment yesterday. Mr Burnett said: "I have nothing to say."

On the night of the murder last November, the pub landlord had been drinking at the nearby Shambles Bar when he was alerted to the incident by a Havelock regular.

He ran back to his hotel from where several customers including an off-duty nurse had rushed to the Wilson house in an attempt to save the banker.

Later, he tried to play down talk of a row with Mr Wright over his decision to close the hotel.

Mr Wilson was shot on the doorstep of his three-storey house in Crescent Road just after 7pm on Sunday, November 28.

The identity of the killer and his motive still remains a mystery.

The father-of-two was finally laid to rest last month after a service in St Andrew's Episcopal Church, Fort William, where he married Veronica seven years ago.

Detectives from Northern Constabulary have been contacting gun shops across Europe to try to trace the source of the bullets from the vintage German-made pistol used to kill Mr Wilson