Drunk race abuser "not a solicitor" despite reports

A man taken off a train and arrested following a drunken racial tirade against a woman and her child is not a solicitor, despite widespread media reports to the contrary, the website Roll on Friday reports today.

Alexander Mackinnon (47) was led in handcuffs from a London-Glasgow train at Carlisle after telling Sanaa Shahid (who happened to be a solicitor), also travelling first class with her four year old son, "You don't deserve to be here", and going on to further insult and swear at her, while drinking from a bottle of wine.

He has since been fined £1,154 at Carlisle Magistrates Court for a racially aggravated public order offence.

Media reports, including the BBC, widely described him as a solicitor, but today's report states that he is not registered as such on either side of the border and is in fact an ex-marketing executive – who also has a previous conviction for a shotgun offence.