A former senior prosecutor for the north and north-east who threatened one of his husband’s hair salon beauticians with deportation has been banned from practising law for two years.
The Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal gave disgraced lawyer David Wilkie-Thorburn, 55, a two-year suspension following a hearing earlier this year.
He was found guilty at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in December 2019 of sending a racially aggravated, menacing message to Venda Rodrigues on April 7 of that year, claiming he could get her expelled from the UK.
She took the threat, which was sent on Facebook Messenger, to the police.
Wilkie-Thorburn – the then assistant procurator fiscal for Grampian, Highlands and Islands – was taken to court and fined £700 three years ago.
Earlier this year, he appeared before a committee of the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal that judged his behaviour to be “serious and reprehensible”.
The judgment published by the legal watchdog stated that a two-year suspension from practising law was appropriate in the circumstances.
It added: “It is well established that conduct that takes place in the private life of a member of the profession can amount to professional misconduct.
“Not all inappropriate, even criminal conduct, that occurs in a solicitor’s private life will do so.
“However, here the respondent (Wilkie-Thorburn) had sent a menacing and intimidating message to a third party that specifically referenced his role as a senior prosecutor.
“This resulted in the recipient of the message being placed in a state of fear and alarm and the subsequent conviction of the respondent.
“The tribunal considered the conduct to be not only deplorable but shocking.
“The admitted conduct clearly fell below the standards to be expected of a competent and reputable solicitor and could only be described as serious and reprehensible.”
Criminal case against Wilkie-Thorburn
During previous criminal proceedings, a sheriff heard how Wilkie-Thorburn’s husband Neil feared losing Venda, who hired a chair in his salon, to a rival outfit next door.
Neil Wilkie-Thorburn, 58, runs Wilks Hair Studio on Aberdeen’s Huntly Street.
He was angry when nail technicians and sisters Katty and Merlin Ramos walked out and launched K&M Nails next door.
Venda, who came from India to join her husband Milton in Aberdeen, also told him she was quitting to join the Ramos sisters.
Venda, 39, said she was scared to leave because of Neil’s reaction.
In a Facebook message sent by David Wilkie-Thorburn at 1.22am he told Venda: “I don’t know if you know what I do but it might be informative for you to know I am the head of prosecution in Grampian”.
He said he had responsibility for making prosecutions for the HMRC and serious fraud and immigration cases.
He also claimed he could make recommendations on who should get expelled from the country.
Mum of four felt ‘sick with worry’
At the time, Venda said: “This has affected me as a mother – I have four children and in those months I felt sick with worry.
“He got what he deserved and he should lose his job for abusing his power.”
Advocate David Moggach, defending Wilkie-Thorburn, said he would almost certainly lose his job.
Sheriff Ian Duguid KC said Wilkie-Thorburn’s “exemplary character” over 18 years of service had been marred by “an error of judgment”.
He said the fine would have been £500 had it not been for the racially-motivated element.
The Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal’s judgment also tells of how Wilkie-Thorburn wanted to emphasise how sorry he was for the offence.
He said he had undergone counselling and had learned the reasons why he sent the message.
He told the tribunal that he had decided to give up being a lawyer and was “grieving” for the loss of his career.
The judgment added: “He was continuing to seek counselling which had given him a better understanding of himself but he considered he was still a work in progress.”
Tribunal imposes two-year suspension
However, the judgment stated that the tribunal needed to impose a two-year-long suspension.
It added: “The Tribunal considered the conduct in this case to be extremely serious.
“The respondent had acted in a manner that called into question his own integrity and was damaging to the reputation of the profession.
“Whilst the conduct had been carried out in his private life, it had involved the reference to his professional legal role that he accepted was menacing and threatening.
“The tribunal has a duty to protect the public and the reputation of the profession.
“The tribunal considered that the conduct itself was so serious that it required to mark this out for the benefit of the members of the profession and the public.
“In all the circumstances, the tribunal considered it appropriate to suspend the respondent for a period of two years.”
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