Doctor arrested over posts about son's rape victim

Ellie Wilson is a campaigner for survivors of male sexual violence

A doctor has been arrested over claims he posted abusive tweets about his son's rape victim, the BBC has learned.

Dr Andrew McFarlane, a GP in the Highlands, was taken into custody on Wednesday charged with communications offences.

In 2022 his son Daniel McFarlane was convicted of raping Ellie Wilson, who has since become a campaigner for survivors of male sexual violence.

Dr McFarlane, 61, was reported to the General Medical Council (GMC) for his social media comments earlier this year when he had claimed his son was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

He called Ms Wilson a manipulative liar, and said she threatened, blackmailed and abused his son.

Police Scotland said a 61-year-old man had been arrested and charged with communications offences, and released to appear in court at a later date.

Rape convictions

Daniel McFarlane attacked Ms Wilson between December 2017 and February 2018 when he was a medical student at the University of Glasgow.

He was found guilty of two rape charges and sentenced to five years in prison in July 2022.

The following year Ms Wilson, who was a politics student and champion athlete at the university, released audio on X of a conversation with McFarlane she covertly captured after the attacks.

She told the BBC she did this because many people had wondered what evidence she had to secure a rape conviction.

In the recording she asks McFarlane: "Do you not get how awful it makes me feel when you say 'I haven't raped you' when you have?"

McFarlane replies: "Ellie, we have already established that I have. The people that I need to believe me, believe me. I will tell them the truth one day, but not today."

When asked how he feels about what he has done, he says: "I feel good knowing I am not in prison."

Conditions imposed

Dr McFarlane was reported to the GMC for his posts about the case in July and last week, had special conditions imposed on his medical registration following an interim orders tribunal.

He has still been able to see patients over this time, but is now personally required to inform the GMC if there are any changes to his job title or contact details for his employer.

If a doctor is arrested, the GMC pauses any internal investigations.

Ms Wilson previously told the BBC that her "heart sank" when she first read his remarks online.

She said: "I honestly just felt terrified when I first saw it and the more that it went on, the more I read, the greater the impact it had on me.

"I felt like I was being abused all over again. It felt like I was right back there trapped in that abusive relationship."

If you are affected by any of the issues in this story, help and advice is available through BBC Action Line.