Gun accused a 'brother in arms'

Waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood was shot dead in 1994

A soldier who served in Iraq with a man accused of murdering a waiter has said he was like a "brother in arms".

Soldier Michael Ross, 29, denies shooting Shamsuddin Mahmood, 26, in the Mumutaz restaurant in Orkney in 1994.

Lance Corporal Josafa Taroga, a Fijian, told the High court in Glasgow that Mr Ross had been like a big brother to him after his cousin died in an attack.

He said he had never witnessed anything to suggest the accused was racist. The closing arguments are due on Tuesday.

The Black Watch soldier told defence counsel Donald Findlay QC of his cousin Peter Tukawaka's death: "I saw Michael the day after Peter was killed.

"He was in tears and he hugged me. We are brothers in arms. I've always looked up to Michael, he is like a brother to me."

'Finest soldiers'

The court heard that Mr Ross, now of Inverness, was commanding a Warrior armoured personnel carrier when it was hit by an improvised explosive device.

Mr Findlay asked: "Have you ever heard him say or do anything that would suggest he had hostility towards black people or people who are not white?"

Mr Taroga replied: "No sir."

Captain Alexander Ramsay described Mr Ross as "one of the finest soldiers, if not the finest soldier, I've commanded".

He added: "He is a gentleman in the way he looks after his family and his soldiers."

Cpt Ramsay told the court that in November 2004 his soldiers were attacked by a suicide bomber in a car while they manned a checkpoint in an area known to soldiers as "the triangle of death".

Four died in the blast and seven were injured.

Cpt Ramsay said: "Sgt Ross, who was then a corporal, assumed control, administering first aid to soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter and organising the evacuation of the wounded.

"He also helped to rebuild the confidence of the soldiers which took quite a kicking."

Not tolerated

Cpt Ramsay said that Mr Ross, who was 15 at time of the death, treated all his soldiers the same. He added that racism was not tolerated in the Army.

Mr Ross is accused of entering the restaurant with his face masked and shooting Mr Mahmood in the head.

He is also accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by changing his clothing and disposing of the weapon.

The prosecution has withdrawn two charges of breach of the peace.

He denies the charges and has lodged a special defence of alibi claiming he was nowhere near the Indian restaurant or Kirkwall town centre, but was cycling in another part of Orkney.

The trial, before Lord Hardie, continues.