OAP IAN’S ANGER AS GANGSTER NEPHEW CLEARED
Elderly attack victim devastated that no justice has been served
A PENSIONER who was brutally battered and robbed of his new jacket is still seeking justice after the nephew of a slain gang boss walked free from court.
Ian McGregor, 74, was savagely attacked by two thugs who tackled him to the ground, repeatedly kicked him in the face and robbed him in Glasgow’s Springburn last October.
The grandfather of five was not able to identify the men who struck from behind on a dark street.
But Joseph McGovern – whose uncle Tony McGovern was shot dead outside a Glasgow pub almost two decades ago – was charged with carrying out the assault with an unknown attacker.
The 37-year-old was cleared at the city’s sheriff court this week when his defence team argued there was not enough evidence to place him at the scene.
Ian – who has needed counselling since the incident and is fearful of leaving home alone – is gutted that his attackers are still on the streets.
He said: “This has taken everything out of me. I’m devastated.
“Giving evidence was very distressing and seeing the photographs of my injuries at the time. It reminded me just how bad it really was.”
Retired stonemason Ian was walking on Valleyfield Street when the two men struck on October 31, knocking his hearing aids out and leaving him with black eyes and a bloodied face. He described the attack as “terrifying”.
The culprits ran off with more than £100 and the new £320 puffa-style leather jacket Ian had been saving for.
At the time, police described the robbery as a “sickening attack on an elderly man”.
Ian hopes those responsible may still be brought to justice in the future.
McGovern comes from the powerful family from Springburn, who rose to prominence in the 90s as the self-styled McGovernment.
His uncle Tony, the eldest of five brothers, died aged 35 after being shot outside the New Morven bar in Balornock in 2000. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest at the time.
The crime boss’s murder followed a feud with former pal Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson.