Gypsy gang convicted of catalogue of abuse against their workers

● Men preyed on victims from troubled backgrounds, holding them in servitude

Three men from a gypsy traveller family have been found guilty of abduction, violence and intimidation against men who worked for them.

Robert Mcphee and his sonin-law John Miller were convicted for the crime of servitude – holding men against their will and forcing them to work for little or no money.

James Mcphee was found guilty of assault and abduction.

Another man, Steven Mcphee, pleaded guilty to assault earlier in the trial.

The men were found guilty of more than 20 charges between them after five-week trial heard that they preyed on vulnerable men from troubled backgrounds.

The victims were promised work doing jobs such as mono-blocking driveways but were held captive and made to do mammoth shifts for little or no pay.

They were brutally punished if they complained or tried to escape.

The charges spanned dates from 1992 to 2016.

They included a charge that Robert Mcphee, known as Bobby and nicknamed the Tank Commander, held Graeme Lamb in “servitude” against his will for three years at a piggery in Shotts, North Lanarkshire.

Robert Mcphee and Miller were also convicted of holding Kieran Williams in “servitude” under their control