Malcolm Potier, a 75-year-old former Scottish laird with a criminal history of plotting murder, has been sentenced to two years in prison for strangling a woman during a performance of the Queen musical We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum. The attack occurred on June 7, 2023, when a row broke out in the audience after Potier's partner told the victim to stop singing along.
Attack during live performance
Kirsty O'Donnell and a friend had been moved to seats next to Potier and his partner, Lizzie Loveridge, midway through the show. Prosecutor Sam Lubner told Southwark Crown Court that Loveridge had been hushing people and demanding quiet, then objected to O'Donnell and her friend singing along to a song, saying: "Will you two shut the f*** up?"
O'Donnell replied with words to the effect of "that's a bit rude," to which Potier said, "I'll show you what rude is." He then leaned over and placed both hands on O'Donnell's neck, applying pressure and strangling her for an estimated three to five seconds, with more intense pressure for the first one or two seconds. O'Donnell was able to say "can you please let go," and shortly afterward he released her.
O'Donnell was left in a state of shock and fear, tearful and unable to report the incident at the time. She later identified Loveridge through Facebook, which led police to arrest Potier in November 2023.
Judge condemns disproportionate response
Judge Dafna Spiro sentenced Potier to two years in prison, describing the attack as "a wholly disproportionate response to a trivial disagreement and took place in a crowded public theatre during a live performance." The judge praised O'Donnell for giving evidence at trial and during the sentencing hearing, saying she "has done so primarily to send a clear message that violence against women and girls is something that affects too many people."
Spiro also noted that Potier's past convictions and the attack on O'Donnell share a "common thread of dominance, control, and lack of accountability."
Criminal history in Australia
The court heard details of Potier's previous convictions in Australia for plotting murder. Potier, a former property tycoon who once owned a Hebridean island and held the title Laird of Gigha, was detained in Australia in 2000 after fleeing the UK with his daughter during family court proceedings. While in Long Bay prison in New South Wales, he revealed a plan to hire a hitman to murder his ex-partner's new boyfriend.
Potier initially said he did not want his former partner killed as she "served a purpose," but he later took steps to have her murdered as well. He asked a friend to make a call to order the hit, sought a second hitman when the original plot faltered, and offered to pay a fellow inmate's £4,500 bond to carry out the acts. However, the fellow prisoner returned to Italy without following through.
Potier's friend reported his efforts to police, who sent in an undercover officer posing as a hitman to covertly record his instructions. Potier, a qualified chartered surveyor, was convicted of plotting the murders and sentenced to six years and eight months in prison, then received a second 12-year jail term after trying to get a fellow prisoner to murder his partner. That second attempt was uncovered after his prison cell was bugged.
Potier returned to the UK in 2015 and was placed under a Violent Offender Order sought by police. The court heard that the order expired earlier this year, despite his charge over the attack on O'Donnell.
Victim impact and sentencing
In her victim impact statement, O'Donnell said she has continued to attend concerts and shows and "refused to let one person's violent actions take away the things I enjoy." She said she decided to continue cooperating with the case despite learning about his past offending, stating: "Someone shouldn't be allowed to behave in this way without being held to account, simply because victims may be afraid of them." She added that she now "has to live with the knowledge he knows exactly who I am."
Potier denied responsibility for the attack, claiming he could not recall attending the show and that another man had taken his seat. After he decided not to give evidence, a jury convicted him of non-fatal strangulation. Speaking to a probation officer, he changed his story to claim he had been at the theatre but in a different seat, and that a hand injury prevented him from strangling O'Donnell. Judge Spiro imposed a restraining order banning Potier from contacting O'Donnell or visiting her home address.
