Acid attack suspect is found dead
Man had been linked to attack on councillor
A MAN at the centre of a gangland vendetta investigation
has been found dead at home.
Robert Brockett was named by witnesses after CCTV pictures emerged from an acid attack at the home of Councillor Graeme Campbell. Police did not have enough evidence to charge Brockett, 41. The investigation is ongoing into two separate firebomb attacks at the councillor’s home in Strathaven, Lanarkshire. Scottish Conservative shadow community safety minister Russell Findlay had close involvement in the case and gave support to Campbell. Findlay said he was aware that people in Strathaven who’d seen CCTV of the acid attack believed the man in the images was Brockett. He said: “This man was named as a suspect in connection with the second attack on Councillor Campbell’s home.
“Witnesses told police they believed it was him in the CCTV. However, this was insufficient to take further action.
“I have no doubt this individual was connected to the organised crime terror campaign being waged against Mr Campbell and other innocent people in Strathaven.”
The Conservative councillor, who serves on South Lanarkshire Council, suffered three attacks on his family home in less than two years.
The incidents, described as an attack on democracy at the Scottish Parliament, came after Campbell spoke out about organised crime.
The first incident involved a firebomb in May, 2019, when a £45,000 BMW was destroyed. That was followed by the acid attack in August, 2020, when a man wearing a hoodie and baggy tracksuit bottoms daubed the corrosive substance on two BMWs, which were badly damaged.
The worst attack came in June this year, when a hooded man poured petrol on his two cars before setting them alight.
The blaze took hold of his family home, almost destroying it.
Campbell and wife Fiona were asleep upstairs but managed to flee.
The incident led to the councillor withdrawing from politics.
On the death of Brockett, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “A post-mortem examination will take place to establish the exact cause of death, which is not being treated as suspicious. A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”