Grant Mccabe

A witness in his 20s told Glasgow High Court that former world snooker champion Graeme Dott allegedly sexually abused him when he was about eight, shortly after Dott won the 2006 world title. The witness described alleged incidents in a shower, during online poker games and in a car, claiming they occurred several times and included gifts of food and a £50 note as part of a supposed reward strategy. He said the alleged abuse continued until 2010 and left him with trauma-related flashbacks. Dott denies the two charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour involving the witness and a girl, and the trial before Lord Harrower is continuing.

Nine men are on trial at Glasgow High Court over allegations that they formed a violent revenge plot after Omar Sadiq was stabbed and killed in September 2020. Prosecutors allege the group targeted Hashim Uddin, whom they accuse of killing Sadiq, along with his relatives and associates, through attempted murders, petrol bomb attacks, vehicle arson and the use of tracking devices. The defendants, including Sadiq’s brother Kashif, deny the charges. Jurors heard agreed evidence about Sadiq’s death and messages offering a £25,000 reward for information on Uddin, who was convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to six years in prison. The trial is continuing.

A 20-year-old dealer, Matteullah Siddiqi, admitted exploiting a 14-year-old boy to distribute cocaine and heroin across Glasgow, Paisley and Ayr, marking one of Scotland’s first human-trafficking convictions involving a child used for drug dealing. The boy was kept in drug dens, missed school and was directed to hand out drug samples before teachers uncovered the exploitation. Siddiqi was later arrested with heroin and admitted additional charges including drug supply and assaulting a police officer. Sentencing has been deferred while he remains in custody.

John McNamara was convicted of murdering James Donaldson after previously admitting attempted murder for the 2019 attack that left the victim severely disabled. Donaldson later died in 2020 after contracting Covid‑19, with the court ruling that injuries from the assault were a significant contributing factor. A jury rejected McNamara’s claim that the death was solely due to Covid, and he received a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years. The court also annulled his earlier attempted‑murder conviction because both charges stemmed from the same incident.