Jail is not like Porridge on the telly.. Murrell will be afraid, alone & lost. He'll feel like it's the end of his life as he knows it

Man who did time for gun rap on prison ordeal facing Sturgeon ex

- BY NORMAN SILVESTER

PETER Murrell will face constant threats and demands for cash in prison, it was claimed yesterday.

Former gangland lawyer James McIntyre, who served time in Edinburgh's Saughton Prison, says wealthy white collar inmates are a big target for violent cons.

And he warned Nicola Sturgeon's estranged husband being in jail will be a "terrifying experience".

Murrell is on remand at Saughton ahead of sentencing on June 23 for stealing £400,000 from the SNP.

McIntyre, who represented gangsters such as Paul Ferris, but ended up inside on a gun charge, said: "I had an underworld criminal backing, he won't have that.

"I think when he goes in Murrell may well be bullied, with people having a go at him because they know he has money.

"He looks 'bullyable'. They know he has connections outside.

"People will pester him for favours and stuff like that. There are some who look for any excuse they can for violence.

"Footballers in the past have been pressurised for money when they have been in there."

During a 30-year career, McIntyre was a lawyer and trusted confidant to some of Scotland's most high-profile underworld figures.

He has been described as a real-life Tom Hagen, the "consigliere" or adviser to the Corleone mafia family in The Godfather book and movies.

McIntyre's clients included the McGoverns - six brothers known as the McGovernment because of the control they allegedly had over Glasgow's Springburn area.

He has also represented former underworld enforcer-turned-author Paul Ferris. But he found himself on the wrong side of the law and was jailed.