Convicted killer pleads guilty to slashing firebomber in jail attack

John McInally, 50, appeared at the High Court in Glasgow in connection with two attacks carried out while he was behind bars, both targeting fellow prisoners at separate Scottish jails.

McInally, who was previously jailed for life for the murder of Andrew Richford in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire in 2006, pled guilty to the aggravated assault of Craig McFarlane and the attempted murder of Gary Reid.

The court heard McFarlane, 30, was sitting at a table in a communal area of HMP Perth on December 5, 2023, when McInally walked past him before turning back and attacking him without any provocation.

Prosecutor Callum Hiller told the court: "McInally then turned around, came up to McFarlane and, without any provocation, he took hold of him and slashed him across the throat."

McFarlane fell to the ground and there was a brief struggle before prison officers intervened.

The weapon was found to be a razor attached to a toothbrush. McFarlane was taken to hospital having suffered a six-inch wound to his neck requiring 15 stitches.

McFarlane was one of six men jailed for a total of 64 years in 2022 for a firebomb plot which a judge said sought to turn Greenock into a "warzone."

He received 15 years for his role in the attacks, which were orchestrated by an associate, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after his brother had been stabbed.

In a separate incident at HMP Shotts on March 21, 2023, fellow prisoner Gary Reid had gone into McInally's cell in the morning before leaving minutes later covered in blood. Reid required hospital treatment for an injury to his neck near the jugular vein.

No weapon was found, with suspicions that evidence may have been flushed down a toilet.

McInally remains in prison with no current date for release. Judge Douglas Brown deferred sentencing until next month.