Brian MacKinnon, who attracted global attention after returning to his former school as a pupil 13 years after leaving, is behind bars after carrying out a terrifying attack and death threat against a former university professor.
MacKinnon ambushed Professor Brian Whiting and his wife at their home just hours after the academic was featured discussing him in a BBC broadcast of a film starring actor Alan Cumming. He threatened to kill the couple.
MacKinnon first made international headlines after posing as a 16-year-old Canadian called Brandon Lee and re-enrolling at his former school.
The extraordinary deception took place in 1993, when the then-30-year-old was taught by several of his former teachers.
He had left Bearsden Academy in 1980 to study medicine at the University of Glasgow, hoping to fulfil his ambition of becoming a doctor. However, he was asked to leave after failing his exams twice.
MacKinnon then devised a remarkable plan to return to school as an adult, sit his Higher exams again and secure a place to study medicine at Dundee University.
His deception initially succeeded, allowing him to begin a medical degree. But the scheme collapsed in 1995 when his real identity was uncovered, and Dundee University expelled him.
Last week, however, a court heard that MacKinnon, now 63, had spent decades blaming Professor Brian Whiting, the former Dean of the University of Glasgow’s medical school, for derailing his hopes of becoming a doctor.
Brian MacKinnon poses as a 16-year-old at his old school
Brian MacKinnon pictured as a teenager
Professor Whiting, 87, and his 83-year-old wife, Marlene, endured what prosecutors described as a “terrifying” ordeal. Wearing a mask, MacKinnon hid inside their home for nine hours before entering their bedroom during the night and threatening to kill them.
While the couple lay in bed, he demanded that the retired academic publicly acknowledge an alleged conspiracy to prevent him from studying medicine.
The High Court in Glasgow heard that the intruder was dressed in dark clothing and wearing a grey cap and mask. As he entered the bedroom, he warned the couple: “No lights.”
Prosecutor Eilidh Robertson told the court: “Mrs Whiting sat up and MacKinnon demanded that she lie down or he would really hurt her.
“MacKinnon then spoke directly to Brian Whiting, blaming him and two colleagues for ruining his life and claiming they were responsible for the death of his parents.”
Professor Whiting had discussed MacKinnon in a 1995 interview after the school fraud was exposed. At the time, he said: “He was asked to leave after he’d been given every possible chance of succeeding, even with a second-year resit, which he then failed to complete successfully.”
That interview was later incorporated into the 2022 docudrama My Old School, in which Hollywood actor Cumming portrayed MacKinnon.
BBC Scotland broadcast the film at 10.15pm on September 27 last year. The following day, an angry MacKinnon carried out the frightening break-in at the couple’s home.
During the raid, he demanded that Professor Whiting withdraw his earlier comments. He also claimed to have a network of spies monitoring the couple and warned that they would “be dead” if they failed to follow his instructions.
MacKinnon was captured on camera in Glasgow four years ago
Professor Whiting pictured in 1995
MacKinnon pleaded guilty to attempted extortion on Thursday and is being held on remand at Barlinnie prison in Glasgow.
The Crown accepted not guilty pleas to five other charges, including possession of two push daggers, possession of an unlicensed stun gun and breach of the peace.
Judge Lady Anwar told him: “You subjected Mr and Mrs Whiting, both in their 80s, to a shocking and terrifying ordeal in their home. It is likely you will face a significant custodial sentence.”
Professor Whiting told The Mail on Sunday that he had not heard from MacKinnon during the 30 years since the hoax was exposed. His wife described the home invasion as “terrifying”.
She said: “What happened was absolutely out of the blue. We’re trying to live a quiet and peaceful life and it’s been totally disturbed by this incident. It was terrifying.”
The court heard further details of the attack. At about 4.30pm on September 28, MacKinnon entered the couple’s home in Glasgow’s leafy west end.
Professor Whiting was working in his study while his wife was in the garden. The back door had been left unlocked.
MacKinnon remained concealed inside the house for nine hours. At around 1.30am, the couple woke to the sound of their bedroom door opening. He entered the room saying “no lights” and threatened to hurt Mrs Whiting unless she lay back down.
Ms Robertson said: “The Whitings were very frightened by this point. MacKinnon then pointed at her husband and asked: ‘Is that Brian Whiting?’”
He told the couple he had brought two statements that he wanted them to “release”.
“He said if they did not comply, and if the media were not involved, then they would both be killed and their families hurt,” the prosecutor said. “He then placed two envelopes containing typed statements on the bed.”
Mrs Whiting did not know the identity of the masked intruder until he told her that his name was “Brian MacKinnon”.
MacKinnon failed his exams while studying medicine
Ms Robertson said MacKinnon then blamed Professor Whiting and two colleagues for destroying his life, also alleging that they were responsible for the deaths of his parents. He briefly left the bedroom before returning and unexpectedly asking to be released from the house.
Mrs Whiting rose from the bed and escorted him downstairs in the hope that he would leave.
She was able to see MacKinnon clearly after he removed his mask. The advocate depute said: “She unlocked the front door. As MacKinnon was leaving, he stated that he had people working for him who would check whether the witnesses were complying with his demands.
“If not, they would be dead. He then left the house.” Mrs Whiting called her son, who showed her an online photograph of MacKinnon. She confirmed that he was the man who had entered the home.
The two statements MacKinnon left behind had been designed to appear as though they were written by Professor Whiting.
They claimed that the retired dean had “succumbed to intolerable pressure to make a misleading statement about Brian Lachlan MacKinnon”.
The documents also stated: “Via a BBC Scotland television broadcast, I stated falsely that MacKinnon had not met the required standard as a medical student after he had set out to study medicine at Glasgow in 1980. Nothing could have been further from the truth.”
They alleged that a “conspiracy” had been created to exclude “incandescently bright” students such as MacKinnon.
The statements also contained “defamatory” comments about the University of Glasgow, BBC Scotland and Alan Cumming. Police arrested MacKinnon after he returned to his home in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, several hours after the incident.
Officers found a mobile phone and three notebooks at the property. One contained handwritten text stating: “I will regain a place to study medicine at a reputable university.”
Police also seized an envelope containing a statement similar to those delivered to the Whitings.
MacKinnon declined to answer questions during police interviews.
He appeared in court in a wheelchair on Thursday. His defence solicitor, Sean Templeton, said: “It is clear he has had an extraordinary life, thrust into the public gaze in the 1990s by attending a school when he was over the age of 18.”
Templeton said MacKinnon had always wanted to work in medicine in order to “assist the public”, but that his “ambitions to become a doctor came to an end”.
He added that after MacKinnon’s deception was exposed, the scandal had “characterised” his life for decades, including the Alan Cumming production, which MacKinnon “did not agree to”.
MacKinnon underwent a psychiatric assessment after his first court appearance in late September 2025. He was subsequently deemed fit to stand trial.
Mr Templeton described his client as “frail” and said he suffered from uncontrolled movements in one arm.
Lady Anwar ordered that MacKinnon remain in custody. Sentencing was deferred until reports have been prepared.