Lawyer targeted in 'bomb plot' with Celtic manager Neil Lennon found dead - The Guardian

Paul McBride, one of Scotland's best-known criminal lawyers, has been found dead in a hotel in Pakistan midway through the trial of two men accused of sending him a parcel bomb.

A prominent and outspoken QC, McBride was allegedly sent a device along with Neil Lennon, the Celtic football club manager, a senior Labour politician and an Irish republican group by Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie, from Ayrshire.

Their trial in Glasgow heard last week that McBride, 46, had been sent what appeared to be a petrol-based parcel bomb. Muirhead and McKenzie have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to murder.

McBride, 46, who was understood to be advising Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor and Downing Street communications chief, about the phone hacking scandal, was found dead in his hotel room in Lahore on Sunday morning by his close friend and colleague Aamer Anwar.

McBride's unexpected death stunned the Scottish legal profession and senior political figures. Scotland's two senior law officers, Frank Mulholland QC, the lord advocate, and Lesley Thomson, the solicitor advocate, said he would be "sorely missed." It must have been "devastating news" for McBride's partner Gary, they added.

"Paul was in the prime of his life," they said. "He lived life to the full and had contributed so much to the legal profession, the media and public life in Scotland. He had a fabulous intellect and was interested in so many things. He was a fearless advocate who was not afraid to speak out about injustice and intolerance."

Friends said he was very compassionate and generous, yet was "lethal" cross-examining witnesses. David McKie, a solicitor who often instructed McBride and last spoke to him on Friday, said: "He would take on the establishment and he did it fearlessly, even without considering the impact on his popularity and reputation."

Anwar had last seen McBride at a wedding where the pair had met Pakistani government ministers and senior police officers. McBride had flown to Lahore for several days after taking a brief break from a holiday with his parents in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking from Lahore, Anwar said McBride had been feeling unwell and queasy for several days, and had gone back to the hotel early on Saturday to rest. Anwar raised the alarm with hotel security guards on Sunday morning after failing to reach McBride by phone several times.

"I had phoned him last night, and there was no answer and phoned him this morning several times," Anwar said. After forcing hotel staff to allow him into McBride's room, he said he found him lying in his bed, where he looked asleep.

McBride and Anwar worked together in the trial of Tommy and Gail Sheridan for perjury at the high court in Glasgow in late 2010, where McBride appeared for Gail Sheridan and successfully defended her against several charges of lying on oath to help her husband.

Well known in the Scottish media for giving legal advice on stories, McBride was also given a column in the Scottish edition of the new Sun on Sunday tabloid; in his final column for its edition on Sunday, he railed against critics of new legislation outlawing sectarian and racist behaviour at football matches. McBride said the law would make Scotland a safer and more tolerant society.

McBride was also politically active; touted as a possible UK law officer in a Tory government; he resigned from the Scottish Conservative party in protest at the election of Ruth Davidson as its leader late last year.

The Muirhead and McKenzie trial heard last week that a postman had become extremely suspicious about a parcel addressed to McBride after noticing it was smelling very strongly of petrol. Police officers said the device contained nails, a clear bottle filled with liquid, and wires leading to an apparent timer.

McBride was one of the youngest lawyers ever to be made Queen's counsel, at the age of 35, and was a member of the Scottish legal aid board.

In a statement issued on behalf of McBride's family, their spokesman, Jack Irvine, said: "Paul died in his sleep last night in a hotel in Pakistan and at this time we would ask you to respect the privacy of his family.

"The family have asked that they are not troubled at this distressing time."

David Mundell, the Tory MP and Scotland Office minister, said McBride was "a fiercely intelligent individual who was as passionate about politics as he was the law. Paul was a towering presence in Scottish public life, who was never afraid to speak out on the issues he cared about."

Alex Salmond, the Scottish first minister, said McBride was "an outstanding advocate", adding: "His reservoir of talent was great indeed, and I believe he had so much more to contribute to the law, and to the great debate on Scotland's future. Paul will be sorely missed across Scotland's legal system, political parties, sport and journalism."