Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Cache of weapons doctor kept to eliminate ‘bad guys’
Ex-Monklands consultant’s hit list and kill plans
A former Monklands Hospital consultant caught with an array of lethal weapons and a sinister “assassination list” has been convicted of intent to endanger life.
Dr Martin Watt compiled a list of “bad guys” he blamed for his dismissal from the Airdrie hospital and hatched an evil plan to “assassinate” them.
Police found three Skorpion submachine guns, two Valtro pistols and ammunition including 57 dum-dum bullets when they searched his home last May, following a tip-off.
They also uncovered the “bad guys” list, along with information on individuals’ addresses and car registrations.
Warped Watt carried out target practice with a Skorpion sub-machine gun at a forest area close to a motorway near his Cumbernauld home.
The former accident and emergency consultant had worked as a doctor for 32 years and was based at Monklands Hospital until 2012. The High Court in Glasgow heard he was dismissed following disciplinary procedures.
Jurors at the High Court in Glasgow took just 75 minutes to convict Watt, a first offender – who had already admitted charges of possessing weapons and ammunition.
Giving evidence, the 62- year- old insisted he did not intend to kill anyone and claimed he was not a danger to the public.
Responding to questions from defence QC John Scott, he said those named on the list were involved in his “bullying, harassment and eventual dismissal”, adding: “They were not allowing me to clear my name.”
Watt told the court he had “assessed how to assassinate” people on the list and “express my thoughts on paper”, with the plans being based on the plot of Robert De Niro film Killer Elite, about a group of mercenaries – but said he had no intention of ever carrying out the scheme.
He said: “Playing out the retribution game on paper gave me some sort of comfort.” He added: “I do not see myself as a danger to the public.”
However, prosecutor Alex Prentice QC said: “All this was done in preparation for an awful event.
“There was an intention to endanger life, it was more than mere thinking about it.
“Dr Watt was harbouring a grudge and he sought out the home addresses of the key players in the disciplinary process. He collected a significant arsenal of lethal weapons and felt he had been unfairly treated.”
Following the jury’s verdict, High Court judge Lady Stacey deferred sentence until next month for background reports and remanded Watt in custody, saying: “I need to have as much information as I can before me.”
Detective Chief Inspector Kevin Jamieson of Police Scotland said after the conviction: “This was a particularly complex and complicated intelligence-led investigation and we are grateful for the assistance and cooperation provided by colleagues at NHS Lanarkshire, the National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police.
“Working in partnership, we were able to meticulously piece together the evidence and the timely intervention of our officers prevented Martin Watt commissioning a crime with potentially extremely serious consequences.
“Keeping individuals safe is a priority for Police Scotland and we continue to work closely with NHS Lanarkshire to help reassure its employees.”
NHS Lanarkshire chief executive Calum Campbell said: “This has been a very distressing time for all of the staff, past and present, who have been involved in this case.
“Our priority has been to ensure we have had the right support in place for our staff throughout this process and I know they are all relieved that the trial is now over.
“I would like to thank the officers of Police Scotland for their efforts, which secured a successful conviction and ensured no-one came to any harm.”
They were not allowing me to clear my name . . . his plans based on plot of De Niro movie