A GANGSTER who was jailed for his role in the shooting of a businessman has been locked up again for attacking his former partner in Linwood.

Francis McGlone was sentenced to 10 years in 2010 for plotting to kill Tony Demarco, who was shot in the head as he left an Edinburgh casino in 2008.

However, he was released in January 2015 – after serving less than half that term – and went on to assault his former partner Lorna McAllister in Linwood last August.

The details emerged when 48-year-old McGlone, of Paisley, appeared in the dock at the town’s sheriff court and pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting Miss McAllister, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

David McDonald, prosecuting, said McGlone and Miss McAllister, 38, had been in a relationship for about six months before they split up last July and that the offences took place in Cairn Drive, Linwood, at about 8.30pm last August 6.

He explained: “Miss McAllister and her new partner returned to her home after being out for the day.

“She noticed her ex-partner was in the street and was sitting in his vehicle, a grey Ford Ranger.

“She told her partner to go into the flat and stated she would speak to him [McGlone] alone to ascertain his reasons for being there.”

McGlone grabbed Miss McAllister’s arm and tried to pull her into the car but she broke free, falling to the pavement while he drove off.

When McGlone was later traced and detained by police, he told officers: “She just fell out of the car, got up and walked away.”

Defence solicitor Tony Callahan said McGlone had been given a 14-year sentence in 2010, comprising a 10-year jail term and a four-year period on licence, which sees him monitored in the community.

The lawyer added McGlone thought he may be able to get back together with Miss McAllister and had gone to her home to discuss a possible reconciliation and retrieve his belongings.

He said McGlone had been recalled to custody by the authorities over the 2008 shooting and that, although his sentence is due to expire in January 2024, he could get out as soon as October next year.

Sheriff Seith Ireland jailed him for 12 months for the latest offences, reduced from 18 months as he admitted his guilt.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard in 2010 that Demarco, then 63, still had a bullet lodged in his cheek and was lucky to be alive after the attack.

McGlone, along with Imran Sakur, Jamie Robertson and Craig Kelbie, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and attempted murder.