SNS GroupA notorious imposter who was in his 30s when he conned his old school by posing as a teenager is behind bars for a terrifying extortion bid on his former university professor.
Brian MacKinnon made headlines around the world in the 1990s when he was exposed as Brandon Lee – supposedly a 16-year-old boy who had enrolled at Bearsden Academy in East Dunbartonshire having moved from Canada.
He earned five As in his Higher exams leading to him getting a place at the University of Dundee to study medicine.
But, an anonymous tip off to the education authorities and the media led to his true identity being discovered, dashing his hopes of becoming a doctor.
It emerged MacKinnon had previously been a pupil at Bearsden between 1974 to 1980.
He was then a medical student for two years at Glasgow University, but did not complete the course and was thrown out following a failed appeal.
It was there that he got to know the Professor, who was then Dean of the university medical school.
He was interviewed by the BBC about MacKinnon in the 90s following discovery of the ruse.
The clip went on to feature in the 2022 docudrama about the imposter called “My Old School” starring Scots actor Alan Cumming.
Still harbouring a grudge decades later on losing his place at Glasgow, a bitter MacKinnon, now 63, ambushed the retired academic at his home the day after the show was repeated on the BBC.
Last September 28, the 87 year-old was in his study at the property in the city while wife, 83, was in the garden.
It is believed MacKinnon then managed to sneak in around 4.30pm while the rear door and gate were unlocked.
The couple retired to bed that night at 11.30pm.
About two hours later, they were awoken to their room door suddenly opening.
A figure – MacKinnon – then came up to the side of the bed and told the woman: “No lights.”
He was wearing dark clothes at the time, a grey cap and had a mask over the lower part of his face.
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 [man and woman] were very frightened by this point. MacKinnon then pointed at her husband and asked [if the man was his former professor]’.”
MacKinnon then said he had brought “two statements” which he wanted the couple to “release”.
Ms Robertson said: “He said that if they did not comply and if the media were not involved then they would both be killed and their families hurt.
“He then placed two envelopes containing typed statements onto the bed.”
The woman did not know who the intruder was before he said his name was “Brian MacKinnon”.
Ms Robertson said: “MacKinnon then spoke to [the retired professor], 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.
The woman got up and led him downstairs hoping he would go.
She asked how he had initially got in, he boasted: “That was easy.”
The pensioner then 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.”
The woman immediately called her son. He went on to show her an online photo of MacKinnon and she confirmed he had been the raider who had made the threats.
The court heard how the two statements left by MacKinnon had been made to look as if they had been completed by the professor.
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. DNA at the house helped link him to the crime.
CCTV from a nearby property had also captured him walking near the property that afternoon.
He was eventually held after returning to his home in Milngavie, East Dunbartonshire hours after the incident.
Police went on to find a mobile phone and three notepads.
In one, there was handwritten text commenting: “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 couple was discovered inside.
MacKinnon made no comment when quizzed by police.
He pled guilty to a charge of attempted extortion. He was brought into court in a wheelchair.
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”
Mr Templeton said after he was exposed, it had “characterised” his life in the many years since including the Alan Cumming show 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 2025, but it was eventually concluded that he was “fit to stand trial”.
Mr Templeton described MacKinnon as now “frail” suffering 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 in HMP Barlinnie.
She told him: “You subjected [the couple], both in their 80s, to a shocking and terrifying ordeal in their home. It is likely you will face a significant custodial sentence.”
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