Chainsaw man who threatened councillor walks free

A MAN was yesterday spared jail for threatening to kill a Labour councillor and chasing him with a running chainsaw.

Conrad Procter, 40, yelled abuse at Paul O’Kane as he was campaigning for former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy – telling him he would ‘cut his f ****** head off’.

Sheriff Seith Ireland slammed Proctor’s actions and said he had ‘troublesome attitudes’ – then let him walk free after saying he had ‘come very close to custody’.

Mr O’Kane, 28, was canvassing in Procter’s home street in Barrhead, Renfrewshire, on April 6 last year, during the General Election campaign.

Procter threatened the politician while holding a running chainsaw and chased him out of his garden and down the street.

Giving evidence at Paisley Sheriff Court, Mr O’Kane said: ‘I heard some shouting about “Red Tories, get out of here”. The voice

‘Completely undemocratic’

was aggressive. I saw the gentleman in his garden. I walked a few doors down.

‘He said, “If you come over here I will cut your f ****** head off”. He was holding an electric chainsaw. He turned it on. He held it aloft.’

Procter denied behaving in a threatening or abusive manner likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm by shouting, swearing, acting in an aggressive manner, threatening violence while in possession of a running chainsaw and following Mr O’Kane down the street while holding it.

But he was convicted last month, with sentence deferred for him to be assessed by social workers.

When he returned to the dock yesterday, Sheriff Ireland said he was ‘persuaded just’ that custody could be avoided. He placed Procter on a 12-month, 200-hour Community Payback Order.

Procter showed no emotion as he was spared jail.

Speaking before the trial began, Mr O’Kane said: ‘I’m used to vigorous campaigning but that level of intimidation and threat is disturbing and completely undemocratic. To threaten someone’s life really is quite upsetting.’