School boy imposter subjected ex-professor and wife to 'terrifying ordeal'Sun, November 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC
An imposter who made headlines around the world for posing as a school pupil in his 30s has admitted sneaking into the home of his former university professor and subjecting him to a "terrifying ordeal".
Brian MacKinnon targeted Prof Brian Whiting, 87, as he lay in bed with his wife, the day after a BBC docudrama on his audacious ruse was broadcast.
My Old School, starring Alan Cumming, chronicled MacKinnon's return to Bearsden Academy, as Brandon Lee, a 16-year-old who had supposedly just moved to Scotland from Canada.
MacKinnon hatched the plan so he could pursue his dream of becoming a doctor having been thrown out of Glasgow University, when Prof Whiting was dean of the medical school.
The model pupil who was a 30-year-old imposter
MacKinnon - who was formerly a pupil at the East Dunbartonshire school from 1974 to 1980 - returned in 1993 and secured five As in his Higher exams.
As a result he earned a place at the University of Dundee to study medicine.
But in 1995 an anonymous tip-off revealed he had previously spent two years as a medical student at the University of Glasgow and did not complete the course.
MacKinnon was thrown out of the medical school in 1983 following a failed appeal.
When his double life was exposed, Prof Whiting was interviewed by BBC Scotland News.
The archive footage was used in the 2022 docudrama.
The High Court in Glasgow last week heard MacKinnon, now 63, went to the retired academic's home on 28 September last year - the day after My Old School had been repeated on the BBC.
It is believed MacKinnon sneaked into the property, in the west end of the city, around 16:30 as the rear door and gate were unlocked.
Prof Whiting was in his study and his 83-year-old wife, Marlene, was in the garden.
They went to bed around 23:30, unaware MacKinnon was hiding in their home.
About two hours later they were awoken when their room door suddenly opened.
A figure wearing dark clothes, a grey cap and a mask over the lower part of his face walked up to the side of the bed and told Marlene: "No lights."
Prosecutor Eilidh Robertson told the High Court in Glasgow: "She sat up and MacKinnon demanded that she lie back down or he would really hurt her.
"Both the Whitings were very frightened by this point.
"MacKinnon then pointed at her husband and asked: 'Is that Brian Whiting?'."
MacKinnon then said he had brought "two statements" which he wanted the couple to "release".
Robertson said MacKinnon threatened to kill the couple and hurt their families if they did not comply.
Alan Cumming played MacKinnon in the 2022 film, My Old School
Marlene did not know who the intruder was before he said his name was "Brian MacKinnon".
Robertson added: "MacKinnon then spoke to Brian Whiting directly blaming him and two colleagues for ruining his life and having responsibility for the death of his parents."
MacKinnon then briefly left the room and, on his return, suddenly asked to be let out the house.
Marlene got up and led him downstairs hoping he would go.
She asked how he had initially got in, he boasted: "That was easy."
Marlene got a good look at MacKinnon after he took off his mask.
The advocate depute said: "She unlocked the front door.
"As MacKinnon was leaving, he stated that he had people working for him that would check if the witnesses were complying with his demands.
"If not, they would be dead. He then left the house and turned down a lane."
MacKinnon returned to Bearsden Academy in 1993, having previously left in 1980
Marlene immediately called her son.
He went on to show her an online photo of MacKinnon and she identified him as the man who had invaded their home.
The court heard how the two statements left by MacKinnon had been made to look as if they had been completed by Prof Whiting.
Each alleged the retired dean had "succumbed to intolerable pressure to make a misleading statement about Brian Lachlan MacKinnon".
They also said: "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."
The documents claimed there had been a "conspiracy" to exclude "incandescently bright" students like MacKinnon.
They also included "defamatory" remarks about Glasgow University, BBC Scotland and Alan Cumming.
MacKinnon was not initially traced but DNA recovered at the house helped link him to the crime.
CCTV from a nearby property had also captured him walking near the Whitings property that afternoon.
MacKinnon was eventually arrested as he returned to his home in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire, hours after the incident.
Police Scotland officers went on to recover a mobile phone and three notepads.
In one, there was handwritten text which stated: "I will regain a place to study medicine at a reputable university".
An envelope was also seized and a "statement" similar to those given to the Whitings was discovered inside.
MacKinnon made no comment when quizzed by detectives.
MacKinnon appeared in stage production of South Pacific while at high school
Last week he was brought into court in a wheelchair and pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted extortion.
Sean Templeton, defending, told the hearing: "It is clear that 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."
He added MacKinnon had always wanted to be involved in medicine to "assist the public", but his "ambitions to become a doctor came to an end".
Templeton said after he was exposed, it had "characterised" his life in the many years since, including the docudrama which MacKinnon "did not agree to".
The defence advocate said: "It is something that has dogged him since the 1990s."
MacKinnon had been assessed by a psychiatrist after his initial appearance in court in late September last year, but it was eventually concluded that he was "fit to stand trial".
Templeton told the court MacKinnon was "frail" and suffered from uncontrolled movements in one of his arms.
Lady Anwar continued his remand in custody as sentencing was deferred for reports until a later date.
MacKinnon is currently being held at HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow.
She 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."
Source: Crime
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