ONE of Scotland’s most senior law officers was the largest shareholder in a company her husband is accused of running when he was a disqualified director.

Nicola Patrick is Procurator Fiscal for Homicide and Major Crime. She married Stephen Roberts in 1998. He is due to stand trial on Tuesday at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on two charges under the Company Directors Disqualification Act, of effectively being in control of two health and medical technology firms while he was banned.

Roberts' four-year disqualification began in July 2010. It came after he “failed to ensure” a previous company had paid its tax. The firm, Innova Business Solutions, owed £292,882 at the time of its liquidation.

The two companies he is accused of running, now both dissolved, are Nightingale IntensivCORR Systems and Log Six Systems. According to returns at Companies House Patrick held 8997 shares – the largest shareholding – in Log Six in 2013. Her husband owned 7,503. Between them the couple held the majority of the 30,000 shares.

Shareholders, while having a stake in the business, do not run companies and there is nothing to suggest that she knew about the management of the business at the material time.

In 2013 Log Six won £50,000 at the Scottish Edge Awards, a Dragon’s Den-style competition run by Scottish Enterprise on behalf of the Scottish Government. John Swinney, then Finance Secretary, presented Roberts and a former director with the prize. Scottish Enterprise later withheld a portion of the award.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (Copfs) holds a formal Register of Interests which applies to all staff. These interests include, “Business interests (including directorships) not only of the employee but also close family members” and “Shareholdings or other securities/financial interest which the employee or members of their close family hold”.

Unlike registers of interest for Members of Parliament, MSPs and councillors and other public officials, the Copfs register is not published. The justification is that it “could compromise the security of individual staff members, undermine the ability to do their job and create conflict with our obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998”.

The Sunday Herald asked Copfs by phone and in writing whether Patrick had logged any outside interests and registered these between 2010 and 2014 – and if so what these were. A day later the response was that the request would have to be made under freedom of information legislation. That request has been sent.

This newspaper also contacted Patrick but was referred to the Crown Office. A spokesperson responded: “I understand that you’ve attempted to contact our staff member directly. You should note that all media enquiries are dealt with through our office.”

Patrick is one of the rising stars at the Crown Office. She joined the Fiscal Service as depute procurator fiscal in Kilmarnock before being promoted to district procurator fiscal for Stranraer, before ascending to her present post.

It is understood that she has applied to be a sheriff and that the decision on that will be made shortly.