Killer inmate given 10 years for revenge plot on prison officer

A convicted murderer has been jailed for 10-and-a-half years after ordering a revenge gun attack on a prison officer.

Robert Paterson, 45, was serving life in HMP Edinburgh when he claimed to be having a heart attack after swallowing bags of cocaine.

The officer suspected an escape attempt and delayed him from going to hospital in November 2022, which Paterson believed put his life at risk.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Paterson admitted ordering accomplices to obtain a handgun and ammo, before the plot was foiled by police.

Passing sentence, Lord Harrower told him the prison officer had acted "entirely appropriately".

He said: "There was nothing in his behaviour that required to be avenged."

The court heard that after Paterson claimed he was having a heart attack, an ambulance arrived at the jail that had not been ordered by prison staff.

The officer was suspicious of the inmate as he had planned a previous escape attempt in 2012 that involved being taken to hospital.

He also saw Paterson remove a sim card from a mobile phone and swallow it.

He agreed with paramedics to monitor Paterson in the jail before he was sent to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary hours later.

Prosecutor Alan Cameron KC said that Paterson later complained that medics had told him there was a risk of the cocaine bags bursting in his stomach.

Mr Cameron said: "He was extremely unhappy about the delay. He claimed that he had been told at hospital that he was lucky to be alive.

"He decided that he would seek revenge upon the officer by having him seriously assaulted."

Prison officials were concerned about Paterson's behaviour and in February 2023 a hidden surveillance device was installed in his cell.

Paterson was recorded discussing a plan to attack the prison officer.

Mr Cameron added: "Fortunately, the police intervened and no attempt to was actually made to assault the officer who was entirely unaware."

Details of the plot emerged earlier this year after Paterson separately pleaded guilty to ordering two men - Sean McGregor and Donald Stone - and other unnamed accomplices to supply drugs into the jail.

He ordered them to rob people of drugs, watches and a sum of money.

Lord Harrower also passed sentence on these two men.

Stone pleaded guilty to being involved in serious organised crime. He was jailed for five years and three months.

McGregor admitted arranging to carry out an assault and robbery and was jailed for one year and three months.

He was also ordered to complete a further year and two months of unserved time from a previous sentence because he committed the crime while out on licence.

Paterson had been imprisoned for murder at HMP Edinburgh for shooting a man in Cumbernauld in 2008.

In 2012 he was given another three years after a foiled escape attempt

Paterson planned to escape from custody during a visit from Shotts Prison to Wishaw Hospital.

But police were tipped off and caught him using undercover surveillance.

Teresa Medhurst, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service, welcomed the lengthy sentences

She said: "As Lord Harrower rightly identified the officer in this case acted 'entirely appropriately' and it is completely unacceptable that he, or any other member of SPS staff, be targeted in this way.

"The safety of our staff is absolutely paramount. We will continue to work closely with partners across the justice sector, to ensure that all necessary action is taken to protect those who play a vital role in keeping Scotland safe."