A SOLICITOR from West Lancashire, accused of being part of a £4.25m extortion plot, said he wanted to negotiate a reward for clients who could help with the recovery of a stolen Leonardo da Vinci artwork, a court heard.

Marshall Ronald, from Skelmersdale, wrote that he was part of a team that could negotiate the “safe and speedy” return of the precious artwork through “informal mediation”.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard the letter, sent in an email in August, 2007, was composed around 10 days after he and two other solicitors discussed the legality of trying to secure a reward for the return of the stolen Madonna of the Yarnwinder.

The court heard suggestions from Mr Ronald’s defence counsel that there was nothing covert, secret or underhand about the letter.

The details emerged on the second day of the trial of five men accused of plotting in 2007 to extort £4.25m for the safe return of the painting.

The masterpiece was stolen four years earlier, in August, 2003, from Drumlanrig Castle, in Dumfriesshire.

In the dock are Marshall Ronald, 53, from Skelmersdale; Robert Graham, 57, of Ormskirk and John Doyle, 61, also of Ormskirk.

Also on trial are two Scottish solicitors, Calum Jones, 45, from Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire; and David Boyce, 63, from Airdrie, in Lanarkshire. They deny the charges against them. They are not accused of the robbery.

The court was yesterday played a tape recording of a meeting said to have involved the five accused at the Glasgow offices of Boyds solicitors on July 30, 2007.

Jurors heard how Ronald said an “approach” had been made about the painting, and that there was a conversation about the legality of trying to secure a reward for the return of the artwork.