Property tycoon who throttled theatregoer for singing during Queen musical is jailed

A former Scottish Laird who once ordered a hitman to kill his ex-partner has been jailed for throttling a woman because she was singing during Queen musical We Will Rock You.

Malcolm Potier, 75, grabbed Kirsty O’Donnell around her neck when a row broke out in the audience of a 2023 performance of the hit Queen show at the London Coliseum.

Potier’s partner, Lizzie Loveridge, had told Ms O’Donnell to keep quiet as she sang along during the show, to which she replied: “That’s a bit rude”.

Potier, who was previously jailed in Australia over a determined effort to order the murder of his ex-partner, told Ms O’Donnell, “I’ll show you what rude is”, and pressed down on her neck.

Ms O’Donnell told Southwark Crown Court on Thursday that she later learned about Potier’s criminal past, and now lives in fear that he will come after her in the future.

Judge Dafna Spiro sentenced Potier to two years in prison over the West End theatre attack.

“It was a wholly disproportionate response to a trivial disagreement and took place in a crowded public theatre during a live performance”, said the judge.

She praised Ms O’Donnell for giving evidence at trial and during the sentencing hearing, saying she “has done so primarily to send a clear message that violence against women and girls is something that affects too many people”.

And the judge concluded that Potier’s past convictions, along with the attack on Ms O’Donnell, have a “common thread of dominance, control, and lack of accountability”.

Prosecutor Sam Lubner said Ms O’Donnell and a friend went to watch We Will Rock You, starring Lee Mead and Ben Elton, on 7 June 2023, and they were moved to seats next to Potier and Ms Loveridge midway through the show.

They “noticed Ms Loveridge was hushing people, demanding for them to be quiet”, the prosecutor said, and she then objected as they sang along to one of the songs, saying: ‘Will you two shut the f*** up?’

“Ms O’Donnell replied with words to the effect of ‘that’s a bit rude’.

“Mr Potier said ‘I will show you what rude is’, he leaned over and placed two hands over Ms O’Donnell’s neck, applying pressure, strangling her.

“She estimated this lasted for three to five seconds, with more intense pressure for the first one or two seconds.

“She was able to say ‘can you please let go’, and shortly afterwards he did let go.

“She was in a state of shock and fear, tearful and felt unable to report him.”

Ms O’Donnell was later able to identify Ms Loveridge through Facebook, leading police to arrest Potier in November 2023.

The court heard about Potier’s past convictions in Australia for plotting murder, after a falling out with his former partner over custody of their daughter.

Potier, a former property tycoon who once owned a Hebridean island and held the title Laird of Gigha, was detained in Australia in 2000 after fleeing the UK with their daughter during family court proceedings.

While in Long Bay prison in New South Wales, Potier revealed he had hatched a plan for a hitman to murder his ex-partner’s new boyfriend.

He initially said he did not want his former partner killed as she “served a purpose”, but summarising the crimes, Mr Lubner said he went on to take actions to try to have her murdered as well.

The court heard he asked a friend to make a call to order the hit, asked her to find a second hitman when his original plot faltered, and he offered to pay for a fellow inmate’s £4,500 bond so that he could carry out the acts.

However, when the fellow prisoner was released, he returned to Italy without following through with the promise.

Mr Lubner said Potier’s friend reported his efforts to police, who sent in an undercover officer posing as a hitman to covertly record his murder instructions.

Potier, a qualified chartered surveyor, was convicted of plotting the murders and sentenced to six years and eight months in prison, and he then received a second, 12-year jail term after he tried to get a fellow prisoner to murder his partner.

That second attempt was revealed after his prison cell was bugged while he was awaiting sentence for the first offences.

Potier returned to the UK in 2015, and he was placed under a Violent Offender Order sought by police to manage his actions.

The court heard that the order expired earlier this year, despite his charge over the attack on Ms O’Donnell.

In her victim impact statement, Ms O’Donnell said she has continued to attend concerts and shows, and “refused to let one person’s violent actions take away the things I enjoy”.

She said she decided to continue cooperating with the case, despite finding out about his past offending.

“Someone shouldn’t be allowed to behave in this way without being held to account, simply because victims may be afraid of them”, she said.

She added that she now “has to live with the knowledge he knows exactly who I am”.

He denied being the person responsible for the theatre attack, saying he could not recall attending the showing of We Will Rock You and claiming another man had taken his seat.

But after Potier decided not to give evidence, a jury convicted him of non-fatal strangulation.

Speaking to a probation officer, Potier then changed his story to claim he had been at the theatre but in a different seat, and claimed he could not have strangled Ms O’Donnell because he had a hand injury at the time.

Judge Spiro imposed a restraining order on Potier, banning him from contacting Ms O’Donnell or visiting her home address.