Trainspotting 2 actor asked for friend’s SIM card to be removed, court told

A Trainspotting T2 actor who died in a shooting told his friend’s son to remove a SIM card from his father’s phone hours after he was attacked in his own home, a court has heard.

Bradley Welsh, 48, was fatally shot at his flat in the west end of Edinburgh on April 17 2019.

Sean Orman, 30, has pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges against him, including murder, attempted murder, firearms and drugs offences, and is on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The court has previously been told of an alleged attempted murder on David McMillan, 50, and an assault on his son David, 25, at their home at Pitcairn Grove, Edinburgh, on March 13 that year.

Mr Welsh and Mr McMillan Senior were said to have been friends since school.

At the trial on Friday, Mr McMillan Junior said Mr Welsh texted him and asked him to remove the “chip” from his father’s phone while he was recovering in hospital from the attack.

Richard Goddard QC, advocate depute, said: “If that SIM card is removed some of the data might be lost.

“It looks like you or your father didn’t want police involved in this incident.”

Mr McMillan Junior was heard on a call to emergency services saying “no police, no police”, but he claimed this was because he wanted an ambulance as his girlfriend had alerted the police.

Meanwhile, witness Dean White has told the trial the accused had spoken about attacking a man and his son with a machete in the Oxgangs area for money.

He alleged Orman also claimed he was being paid £10,000 to “get” Mr Welsh with a shotgun.

On Friday, Mr White was repeatedly questioned by defence counsel Ian Duguid QC about his recollection of events and why they did not always match with his statements given to police.

The lawyer put it to Mr White that he was “not afraid of anything in this scenario” and had made up events about a Ford Kuga’s involvement in the incident to help police.

Mr Duguid said: “I would suggest it’s a fantasy, you are speaking fantastic untruths.”

The witness said: “No, I’m not fantasising, I’m telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

“I have been removed from my loving family I will never see again because of the statements I gave.

“I told police exactly what was going to happen, this guy would still be alive today.

“I have been removed and I can’t have any contact with my family today.

“If I wasn’t afraid, I would still be in Edinburgh.”

The court also heard Mr White had been smoking cannabis at the time of that meeting with Orman, while also on prescription drugs and methadone to fight heroin addiction.

Orman is also accused of driving at speeds up to 123mph on the Edinburgh bypass on April 22 2019, where the limit is 70mph, and failing to stop for uniformed police officers.

He faces an accusation of having driven on the opposing side of the carriageway of Clovenstone Road “in excess of 92mph”, where the limit is 30mph.

Another charge alleges he drove without insurance and was in possession of the class A drug diamorphine and class C drug diazepam.

The trial, before judge Lord Beckett, continues on Monday.