Friday's crime round-up covers a former SNP chief executive learning barista skills in prison, an armed police evacuation in Aberdeen, and demands to bar Loyalist terrorists from entering Scotland.
Peter Murrell Offered Barista Classes in Prison
Coffee connoisseur Peter Murrell has been given access to barista classes in his jail after embezzling more than £400k in SNP cash. The disgraced former party chief executive, who spent thousands of stolen money on luxury coffee machines for the home he shared with Nicola Sturgeon, can now learn to make the perfect cup at HMP Dumfries.
The 61-year-old was sentenced to five years in June after admitting to a series of fraudulent acts over a 12-year period. An official list of activities available to inmates at his prison, rumoured to be the easiest place to serve time, shows Barista Skill courses are among Life Skills lessons on offer.
Prison Dinner Menu Revealed
Peter Murrell may have gone from luxury living to life behind bars, but his dinner menu at HMP Dumfries doesn't look like stereotypical prison grub. Curry and fajitas nights, pizza, pies and burgers are all up for grabs, and at weekends, a slap-up fry-up is on the cards.
The official prison menu offers a full breakfast with all the trimmings including sausages, black pudding, potato scones, beans, eggs and rolls. Vegetarian alternatives are also provided. Those with a sweet tooth can enjoy banoffee pie, ice cream, apple crumble, doughnuts and biscuits. Documents obtained from the Scottish Prison Service set out the different choices available to prisoners across the week.
Homes Evacuated in Aberdeen
Residents were evacuated from their homes in Aberdeen after a van was involved in a hit-and-run with several vehicles. Armed cops raced to Invercauld Road at 2am on Saturday, August 15. A van smashed into a set of parked vehicles and made off. Officers searched the area and attended a flat on the street.
Due to a man causing a disturbance within a property, specialist officers, including negotiators, were drafted in. Residents in neighbouring flats were evacuated as a precaution. A 38-year-old man has been arrested in connection. Nobody was injured and residents have since been able to return to their homes.
Calls to Block Loyalist Terrorists
Loyalist terrorists fuelling racist disorder in Scotland should be barred from entering the country, campaigners have demanded. The Daily Record revealed this week how UVF-linked bank robber Mark Sinclair and sectarian killer pal Glen Kane have become major anti-immigration voices via Sinclair's 'freedomdad' YouTube channel.
The pair have been spotted at extremist protests in Glasgow, and anti-racist groups say they are part of a growing network of far-right groups in Scotland linked to Loyalist terror groups in Northern Ireland. Now calls have been made for Sinclair, Kane and other activists linked to Loyalist terror to be banned from taking the ferry from Belfast to Scotland. Trade union activist John McDermott, involved in attempts to oppose the rise in far-right extremism, urged police to stop them at ferry terminals into Scotland if it is evident they are hell bent on trouble.
Mum Who Vanished Made 153 Calls
A mum who vanished off the face of the earth made 153 calls with a man on the day of her murder. Almost a decade ago, Patricia Henry's daughter bravely made a public plea for help in finding her missing mum. At the time, Patricia hadn't been seen for more than six months, having moved from her home in Paisley to make a new life in Girvan on the Ayrshire coast.
Her then 18-year-old daughter Alannah McGrory made the moving appeal on behalf of Police Scotland in late May 2018 as detectives grew increasingly concerned for her mum's safety. The 46-year-old, known as Patti, hadn't been heard of since November and fears were growing for her safety. As the search was stepped up, a 'person of interest' soon emerged: her downstairs neighbour George Metcalff, more than 20 years her senior. The pair sent 54 texts and made 143 calls to each other between November 1 and November 13, 2017 - the day police believe she was murdered.
