Brian MacKinnon admits attempted extortion after threatening former professor and wife

Brian MacKinnon, the man who posed as a schoolboy in his 30s, has pleaded guilty to attempted extortion after hiding in the home of his former university professor and threatening him and his wife, a court in Glasgow heard.

The High Court heard that MacKinnon, now 63, entered retired professor Brian Whiting’s home on 28 September last year and concealed himself inside. Around two hours after Whiting and his wife, Marlene, went to bed, a masked figure entered their bedroom and demanded that she keep the lights off.

Prosecutor Eilidh Robertson said MacKinnon threatened to hurt the couple and their families unless they released two statements he had brought with him. He blamed Whiting and two colleagues for ruining his life and for his parents’ deaths, the court heard.

Marlene Whiting said she did not recognise the intruder until he gave his name. She led him downstairs when he asked to leave; before departing, he warned that people working for him would check whether the couple had complied with his demands, the court heard.

MacKinnon’s earlier deception brought him international attention. In 1993, he returned to Bearsden Academy in Scotland as 16-year-old Brandon Lee, having previously attended the school. He earned five A grades in Higher exams and gained a place to study medicine at the University of Dundee. An anonymous tip-off in 1995 revealed he had previously studied medicine at Glasgow University, where he had been expelled in 1983 after an unsuccessful appeal.

The court heard that the two statements MacKinnon left at the Whitings’ home were made to appear as though Professor Whiting had written them. DNA recovered at the house linked MacKinnon to the crime, while CCTV captured him near the property that afternoon. He was arrested later that day.

MacKinnon’s defence lawyer, Sean Templeton, said his client’s ambitions to become a doctor had ended and that the school impersonation had dogged him since the 1990s. He also said MacKinnon was frail and had uncontrolled movements in one arm. A psychiatrist had assessed him after his first court appearance, and he was found fit to stand trial.

Judge Lady Anwar continued MacKinnon’s remand in custody and deferred sentencing while reports are prepared. She told him the couple, both in their 80s, had been subjected to a “shocking and terrifying ordeal” and said he was likely to face a significant custodial sentence.