Neil Lennon ‘bomb’ plot trial: Murder conspiracy charges dropped due to insufficient evidence

TWO men accused of sending improvised explosive devices to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and other high-profile supporters of the football club have had the charges against them reduced and are no longer accused of conspiracy to murder.

Lennon murder-plot charges are dropped

Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie now stand charged with plotting to assault Mr Lennon, former MSP Trish Godman and the late Paul McBride QC, as well as various people at the premises of Cairde Na hEireann, by posting devices they believed were capable of exploding or igniting.

At the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, trial judge Lord Turnbull directed the jury, telling them the term “and murder” had been deleted from the charge, due to insufficient evidence.

Lord Turnbull said: “You can only be asked to adjudicate on evidence which, as a matter of law, would be sufficient to entitle you to reach a decision.

“The evidence led in this case, no matter what you decide to make of it, would never be sufficient in law to entitle you to conclude a conspiracy to murder has taken place.”

He told the jury the development had arisen during legal debate. Muirhead, 44, from Kilwinning, and McKenzie, 42, from Saltcoats, both Ayrshire, face a further charge of dispatching an item by post to Mr Lennon at Celtic Park with the intention of making him believe it was likely to explode or ignite and cause injury or damage to property. Both men deny the charges.

Yesterday Muirhead’s defence, QC Gordon Jackson, made his closing speech to the jury. He said it was “impossible” that anyone could have believed they were sending viable explosive devices.

Mr Jackson told the jury: “How could it be thought that the people sending these packages could ever, ever, ever have believed they would go off? These are grown men, people who hold down jobs. It is impossible.”

Donald Findlay QC, McKenzie’s defence lawyer, said it is “preposterous” to think anyone could have believed the devices were explosive and that they could have detonated. He said the packages were “a message”.

Mr Findlay gave a theatrical demonstration to the jury, putting together parts of a “device” he hypothetically intended to send to advocate depute Tim Niven-Smith. It had no power source or detonator, much like the packages allegedly sent by his client and Muirhead.

Giving his closing speech to the jury, the QC said: “You of course know that what I’ve created is not a bomb. I can call it a chicken. It’s not a chicken.

“It will never become a bomb just because I say it is.

“Such a suggestion would be preposterous. Something to scare, something to frighten, oh yes, but you would never believe such a thing could be thought by anyone to be a bomb.

“Whoever was involved, that is precisely what they were doing. They were sending a message to scare, cause alarm, cause panic or inconvenience. That is all that it was. It was not a conspiracy to cause severe injury.”

The trial continues.