Church professor acquitted of five charges of indecent assault

A church professor who was yesterday acquitted of five charges of indecent assault, described the lengthy trial as "an enormous waste of public money". The Rev Professor Donald Macleod, 55, of the Free Church of Scotland, was cleared after a sheriff agreed that he had been the victim of a conspiracy to bring about his downfall.

Giving his verdict after a 90-minute judgment at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, John Horsburgh QC rejected the evidence of four women who claimed that the professor had assaulted them between 1985 and 1991. He said he was taking the unusual step of explaining his reasons because the outcome of the case could have "serious implications" for both the accused and the Free Church.