Orkney killer Michael Ross admits third prison escape attempt

Michael Ross was found guilty of murder in 2008

A former Army sniper serving a life sentence for a murder on Orkney has admitted attempting to escape from one of Scotland's highest security prisons.

Michael Ross, 43, tried to climb a fence at HMP Shotts in Lanarkshire in 2018 - his third escape attempt.

Appearing via video link at Hamilton Sheriff Court, he was sentenced to two years to run alongside his life term.

Ross was convicted in 2008 of murdering waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood, 26, in 1994 but maintains his innocence.

His lawyer Aamer Anwar said Ross knew the escape attempt would not be successful but had wanted to attract attention to his conviction appeal.

It is the third time Ross, whose earliest release date is in 2035, has tried to escape from jail.

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Prison guards intervened when he attempted to use a homemade ladder to scale the perimeter fence of a sports field while other prisoners were exercising.

A hi-vis jacket he was wearing was searched and found to contain food, clothing and a toothbrush.

He was placed into solitary confinement for weeks and banned from contacting his family.

Depute fiscal Jennifer McCabe said: "He had a homemade ladder which had wooden grapples at either end over the fence and he was attempting to climb said ladder.

"Only one end was thrown over the fence and acted as a climbing rope.

"Officers attended where the accused was standing and he was immediately removed to the segregation unit."

Shamsuddin Mahmood was murdered in 1994

Sheriff Thomas Millar told Ross, who appeared from HMP Low Moss: "It is a serious matter to attempt to escape from custody and it has to be marked by a custodial sentence.

"It is now on your record and will possibly affect any parole proceedings in the future."

Mr Mahmood was shot in full view of a room full of diners, including families with children, by a masked gunman in Kirkwall in 1994.

Ross, who was 15 at the time of the killing, was found guilty of the murder after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow 14 years later.

Guns and ammunition

Police had received an anonymous letter identifying him as the gunman.

Before his arrest, the father-of-two had been decorated for his military service in Iraq and was made sergeant of the Black Watch sniper platoon.

When the guilty verdict was delivered after the murder trial, he fled from the dock before being caught by a court official and police.

A hired car with a cache of guns and ammunition was later found in a nearby Tesco car park.

Mr Mahmood was shot at the Mumutaz restaurant in Kirkwall

Ross tried to escape on a second occasion while being taken to hospital in 2014 after he failed in a bid to have his murder conviction re-examined.

Mr Anwar said Ross's latest escape attempt was a protest over his 25-year sentence for a "wrongful-conviction".

"The incident at HMP Shotts on 13 July 2018 was to draw attention to his case and highlight his innocence," Mr Anwar said.

"He states that he was punished by the Scottish Prison Service after the event and still to this day he is being punished for his actions nearly four years on.

"Mr Ross wishes to convey his sorrow to the family of Shamsuddin for their loss, but appreciates they will not want to hear his words."

He also said Ross "maintains that there will be people on the island who know the truth" about what had happened.