Image source, FacebookImage caption, Malcolm Potier is the former laird of the Hebridean island of Gigha
A 75-year-old man who strangled a woman after she started to sing along at a West End show has been jailed for two years.
Malcolm Potier was sitting near victim Kirsty O'Donnell in the audience at We Will Rock You at the London Coliseum in June 2023.
He said he had no recollection of being at the show, or of attacking O'Donnell, but was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday after being found guilty of non-fatal strangulation by jurors.
Potier, a businessman and surveyor of Sarratt near Watford, was already jailed in Australia two decades ago having twice tried to arrange the murder of a former partner following a dispute over their child.
He is also the former laird - a Scottish term for someone owning a large long-established estate - of the Hebridean island of Gigha.
Judge Dafna Spiro said his behaviour was "extreme and horrific".
"It is an unusual offence," she said. "It's not a situation I have ever come across before."
She said there was a "thread" of "dominance, control and lack of accountability" in Potier's behaviour.
Image source, Sarah Jeynes/BBCImage caption, O'Donnell was sitting in the dress circle at the London Coliseum when she was attacked
Prosecutor Sam Lubner said Potier had been at the show, which is based on the music of the rock band Queen, with his theatre critic partner Lizzie Loveridge.
He said O'Donnell and a friend had started singing, then Loveridge - using a profanity - told them to "shut up".
O'Donnell suggested the reaction was "rude", but Potier responded by saying "I'll show you what rude is" before attacking her.
The court was told the attack lasted a few seconds.
Potier and Loveridge were later tracked down thanks to the business card she had given out to O'Donnell, and he was arrested in November 2023.
O'Donnell was not physically injured, but she told the judge she was "more wary" of her surroundings since the attack and "far more conscious" of her "physical safety".
"I want to set an example for the young women and girls in my life, that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable," she said.
She also described hearing Potier "laughing" outside court during the trial, talking about his belief that he would not be given a prison sentence partly because of his age.
The judge was told how Potier was given a six-year jail sentence in 2002 for inciting the murder of his former partner in Australia.
He was given a further 12-year sentence in 2006 for trying to arrange her murder again.
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