Extracts from 50 hate-mails from Reiner to the Chairman, during November and December 2004, in most cases with e-mails supporting their contents from Peter Muir and Peter Haring.

”Bill has put a lot of work into the company. As a chairman, however, he displays flaws that make him quite unsuitable for that position.

You are, effectively, violating a decision of the board as well as your famed boardroom confidentiality.I don't know why Bill M. torpedoed our draft (consultants brief) after it proceeded all honkey-dorey (is that the right spelling?).

Bill you circulated late last night a "final draft." I am afraid it is irrelevant. your proposal for asset stripping of the estate in order to raise 6% for the purchase price. I would be strongly against any such proposal. Tell me, why do you make it so impossible to work with you?

Why do you try to bounce the board into decisions and situations not of its own choosing? Have you got an ego-problem? At your age?

You know full well that your temporary appointment as chairman will come up for review shortly, the trust by the board in you is more than fragile. please keep to the role assigned to you, I would be grateful for the other directors to make their views known in this matter as soon as possible.

Well, Bill, you are at again, aren't you? Who authorized you to organize a meeting in such a format? Well, mine is, that this meeting is, if at all, only acceptable if it is not being chaired by you.

I have experienced quite a few chairpersons over the years, usually in meetings of somewhat more consequence, never one with such an erratic - or should I call it eccentric? - attitude to the job as yours.

That our application is in crisis is evident: I have been told by one of the civil servants who dealt with the application that it was not strong enough. in case of registration of the bid we would restructure the board.

I don't know whether you delude yourself about the quality of our application. As I said before, I think our application doesn't stand a chance in hell

Do you truly believe that Drumrunie Forest is part of our joint heritage? You just lay yourself open to challenges. Please don't make a hash of it again, as with the "ballot." the Coigach ballot was botched anyway so the sooner it is forgotten the better. the 54% is misleading, The Assynt application is not exactly the handywork of an "experienced team to whom pressing all the right buttons is second nature."

Our application is so far just a copy-and-paste job, but I think we can easily improve on that. 54% of people balloted is not good enough this would be questioned by the Department. I spoke to David Green this morning, he is dead against the inclusion of Elphin, Knockan and Strathkanaird. He thinks this would cause great confusion at this stage.

I described the meeting (with Neil Ross HIE, Alastair Macaskill Chair Assynt Trust and the consultant Steve Westbrook) to bleakly. But when I came home I smelt a stench of state bureaucracy hanging in my cloths. I had to take a bath.

Bill has not acknowledged that his letter to me requesting me to resign from the company was indeed a spoof. But well done, Bill! I and others who saw the letter, had a good laugh!.

he disqualified himself as a person that could be trusted to look after the company's finances properly. 

for the sake of the company and yourself, please do the honorable thing and resign as chairman.”

I expect Bill M. will pay for the postage of his presumptious invitation himself.”