Solicitor did 'right thing' over return of Da Vinci masterpiece

Published on Tuesday 30 March 2010 22:03

A SOLICITOR insisted he did the "right thing" in working to secure the return of a stolen Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece.

Marshall Ronald said he was proud of what he achieved and it was "sad" that he was facing a trial which had "decimated" his life.

The 53-year-old said he acted on trust throughout the negotiations and fell for an undercover police operation.

"The fact is, I'm not an extortionist," he told the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday.

Ronald is one of five men accused of demanding 4.25 million for the return of the Madonna Of The Yarnwinder.

The painting was stolen in August 2003 from Drumlanrig Castle, the Dumfriesshire estate of the Duke of Buccleuch.

Ronald has told jurors of an approach made to his law firm by two of his co-accused, Robert Graham, 57, and John Doyle, 61.

He said the pair had heard there was a chance they could return the painting to its owner and wanted advice on whether it could be done lawfully.

Giving evidence for a second day, Ronald was asked if there was anything he would like to say, with the benefit of hindsight.

"I think we did the right thing. I think we're very proud of it, and we have done something which would not have been achieved but for the effort that we did. The police couldn't do it.

"The people showing lack of trust have been the police," he said. "They've been deceptive and duplicitous. They've played footloose and fancy-free with somebody else's valuable property."

Jurors have heard that a police sting to trace the 20m masterpiece swung into action after Ronald contacted an expert on recovering missing art.

Ronald, of Skelmersdale, Lancashire; Graham and Doyle, both of Ormskirk, Lancashire; Calum Jones, 45, a solicitor of Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire; and David Boyce, 63, a solicitor from Airdrie, deny conspiring to extort 4.25 million from the duke and the painting's insurers.