A man has appeared in the dock accused of attacking a well-known north-east sheriff as he made his way into court.
Sheriff Robert McDonald was outside Banff Sheriff Court when the alleged assault took place.
Macduff man Philip Mitchell, 59, appeared in private at Aberdeen Sheriff Court this afternoon in connection with the matter.
The incident took place at around 9.30am yesterday in a public car park near Low Street, Banff – only a stone’s throw from the court building.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We can confirm that a 59-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with an assault on a man in the Low Street area of Banff.
“The incident happened around 9.30am on Tuesday, 29 June. Nobody was injured.”
The Crown Office said Mitchell made no plea during today’s court appearance and was remanded in custody for further examination.
A source at Banff Sheriff Court said the “horrible” incident had shocked staff there.
Another source said: “The cases that were due to be heard at the court that day were not affected as Sheriff McDonald worked on as usual.”
Mr McDonald was appointed to serve at Banff in March 2018.
His career began in 1976 with Anderson Fyfe Stewart & Young in Glasgow and in 1980 he moved to Inverness, joining MacArthur & Co as legal assistant, before eventually becoming partner.
In 1986 he joined Munro & Noble as litigation partner before moving to Stronachs in 2002, where he is head of the dispute resolution department and client relations partner. He became a solicitor advocate in 2003.
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