Let me back into the Kirk says minister who conned brothers out of their home

A DISGRACED minister who helped defraud three elderly brothers out of cash and property worth £1.1 million has pleaded to be allowed back into the Kirk.

Reverend Ivan Warwick was condemned for his part in evicting the vulnerable men from the farm where they had lived for decades and draining hundreds of thousands of pounds from their bank accounts.

After two civil court cases – in which the minister and accomplice Douglas Stewart were ordered to repay more than £1 million – he has been suspended by the Church of Scotland pending a disciplinary inquiry.

But Warwick, 69, said: ‘Mistakes that I made were mistakes of judgment, they weren’t mistakes in moral rectitude. I still feel I have a calling. That’s one of the things that will have to be explored with them.’

However, his comments have infuriated the elderly brothers’ cousin, widow Helen Fraser, who helped look after Hugh, Roddy and David McCulloch and took them to a police station to report the fraud.

Although all three are now dead – Roddy,

‘What they did was theft – it was a terrible abuse of trust’

the last surviving brother, died in January – she wants to see the conspirators face a criminal prosecution.

The 71-year-old said: ‘How could a man of the cloth throw three innocent trusting old men out of their home and put them into separate care homes at their time of life?

‘There’s no way he should be allowed back. What they did was theft. It was a terrible abuse of trust.’

Disgraced Warwick was previously minister for Fodderty and Strathpeffer Parish Church in Ross-shire and was once invited to preach to the future King Charles. He first met Stewart – who describes himself as having been a cabinetmaker, photographer, photojournalist, musician and entertainer – in 2001.

Warwick and his wife Jocelyn, 60, and Stewart, 71, and his wife Marie, 70, became friends.

At some point in the next decade Stewart got involved with the brothers, introducing them to Warwick – who added ‘a veneer of respectability’ to their deception, according to one court judgment.

In 2013, one of the brothers, Hugh, signed a power of attorney in favour of Warwick and Stewart. His two brothers soon followed.

In 2014, the brothers, then aged between 79 and 84 and in ill health, signed over Logie Farm at Mulbuie, near Muir of Ord, to the pair and their wives without a penny changing hands and without independent legal advice.

Mrs Fraser recalled visiting Hugh and Roddy in 2017 when David was already in a care home. She said: ‘Roddy started crying. He said, “We’re getting thrown out next week. Douglas Stewart is throwing us out”.’

Mrs Fraser took the brothers to a solicitor and the police, and days later the solicitor confirmed the brothers no longer owned the farm.

Roddy launched a civil case to recover money from the sale of the farm, now being developed for housing, and the Warwicks and Stewarts were told to repay £390,000.

After a second civil case, Warwick and Stewart were ordered to repay more than £750,000 drained from the brothers’ bank accounts.

Warwick, whose marriage has now broken up, said he had been through a ‘very stressful time’ and felt ‘very hurt’ by ‘sensationalised’ coverage of the proceedings – but declined to apologise.

A Church of Scotland spokesman said: ‘This matter is subject to internal discipline proceedings and we cannot comment further.’

Police Scotland denies it mishandled the investigation and said it had passed the case to the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland, which can look into concerns over powers of attorney.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner has launched a probe.

Mrs Fraser added: ‘Police Scotland brushed the whole thing under the carpet. I am only trying to get justice for my cousins.’

‘There’s no way that he should be allowed back’