A man who repeatedly stabbed a doctor in her surgery has been cleared of the attack.

Ian McGregor, 62, assaulted Dr Helen Jackson with a knife at her practice in the west end of Glasgow in August 2007.

However, Lord Carloway acquitted Mr McGregor at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday on the ground that he was insane at the time.

The judge ordered that Mr McGregor be detained at a psychiatric unit for 12 weeks before further assessment. Lord Carloway said Mr McGregor had been suffering from delusions that had affected his actions.

“However, he was able to function at some level,” he said. “He made his way to the surgery having armed himself with a knife. He engaged in an apparently normal conversation before saying, ‘This is your end', and repeatedly stabbed her with a knife.

“The court feels it has no alternative but to accept the conclusion that on the balance of probability Mr McGregor was insane at the time.

The court was told that Mr McGregor believed that he was not getting the right medical advice and that there was a “conspiracy” against him, involving Dr Jackson and his wife, among others.

Dr Jackson said Mr McGregor told her he had not received proper treatment for an ingrown toenail, and related this to the fact that he had suffered a stroke.

When she told him she could no longer be his GP and he would have to find another one, he told her: “It's too late for that.” As she got up from her chair, he stood up, and said: “This is your end,” before starting to stab her with a knife.

Dr Jackson required two stitches for the most serious injurty in her chest but she also ws also wounded on her left breast and on her right hand.

Dr Jackson, 57, told the hearing that she had refused to let the incident deter her. “I haven't got as many patient contacts. It's very stressful, but I don't want to stop being a doctor,” she said.

The court was told that Mr McGregor suffered from a delusional disorder linked to a stroke he had in 2004.

Lord Carloway ordered that Mr McGregor be detained at Rowanbank Clinic, at Stobhill Hospital, under an interim compulsion order for 12 weeks before further assessment.