Man charged in connection with attack on killer Tobin

A MAN has been charged in connection with attacking convicted killer Peter Tobin in prison, police sources said last night.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: “A 21-year-old man has been charged and a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”

Tobin, 61, needed hospital treatment following the alleged assault in Saughton Prison at 7pm on Wednesday. The extent of his injuries is not known.

The incident caused him to miss a second appearance yesterday at Linlithgow Sheriff Court, where he was charged with the murder of schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton in private last Thursday.

The attack on Tobin by a fellow prisoner in Edinburgh’s Saughton jail happened in the protection wing where vulnerable prisoners are housed.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: “A prisoner was subject to an assault and has been taken for medical treatment.”

An investigation is under way.

The body of 15-year-old Vicky was found last week in the back garden of the former home of Tobin, who was convicted earlier this year of raping and murdering Polish student Angelika Kluk.

Vicky’s father, Michael Hamilton, was at the Sheriff Court ahead of Tobin’s expected appearance.

Speaking outside the court, Mr Hamilton revealed the police said her body could be returned to the family within three weeks.

But Mr Hamilton declined the offer as he did not want to bury his daughter so close to Christmas. Vicky will be buried at a cemetery in Polmont, near Falkirk, in the new year instead.

Mr Hamilton said he would one day be laid to rest alongside his daughter.

The remains of a second missing teenager, Dinah McNicol, 18, from Tillingham, Essex, were discovered last Friday, again in the same back garden. Examinations are expected to finish tomorrow.

Outside court, Mr Hamilton said of the attack on Tobin: “He’s getting what’s coming to him, his desserts. He’s getting what he deserves, as far as I’m concerned.”

The father said he would attend a future trial.

“I’ll be with him every step of the way. Hopefully we can get some peace of mind as to when it’s going to be.

“I’ve said to my family, wherever Tobin is, I’ll be.”