Acid attack left me in no doubt we need change for all victims

Conservative candidate Russell vows to tackle organised crime

Renfrewshire residents will hit the polls on May 6 to elect the region’s new MSPs for the next five years. Today, the Express speaks to Russell Findlay of the Scottish Conservatives, who is seeking election in Paisley.

Former journalist Russell Findlay has said working to tackle organised crime and speaking up for victims would be a top priority if he was elected as Paisley’s MSP after being subjected to a doorstep acid attack.

Two days before Christmas in 2015, the Conservative candidate was at home with his 10-year-old daughter when he was targeted by William ‘Basil’ Burns who was disguised as a postman.

After being asked to sign what looked like a delivery card, Mr Findlay felt liquid - which turned out to be sulphuric acid - pouring down the side of his face before eventually managing to fend off the assailant, who was then carted away by cops.

Thankfully, apart from some burns, he came away relatively unscathed physically after throwing water on his face within minutes of the attack and Burns is now in prison for his crime.

But Mr Findlay - who is now head of communications for the Scottish Conservatives - said going through the criminal justice system and witnessing a “muted” reaction from politicians is something which has stayed with him.

And if voters in Paisley back him in just a couple of weeks, he has pledged to speak out about organised crime in Holyrood and be a voice for victims.

“It’s weird talking about it because it’s such a familiar story to me but when I speak about it sounds so extreme, because it was,” said Mr Findlay, who documented his ordeal in his book Acid Attack: A Journalist’s War With Organised Crime.

“It did trouble me slightly at the time that the reaction in politics was fairly muted.

“We’ve seen journalists in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and in other parts of Europe being targeted and in some cases killed.

“I don’t want Scotland to be like that and so I found the reaction to it a bit odd.

“Being exposed to the attack and the criminal justice system did nothing to dissuade me from how appalling it is and how lacking in empathy and understanding it is towards crime victims.

“That’s been a bit of motivation for me to get involved with politics, as I think tackling organised crime is important.

“We don’t hear politicians talking about it too often because it’s such a dangerous entity, but the reality is in my street or in anyone’s street, there will likely be someone who is involved in it.

“The whole incident was appalling, but I couldn’t have got luckier.

“I’ve had to repaint the frame of my front door about half a dozen times and you can still see splodges of where the acid keeps coming through, but thankfully there’s no scarring on my face and my eyesight is fine.”

Aside from matters surrounding the horror attack, Mr Findlay said other things had also driven him to want to represent Paisley, where Burns was from.

The national conversation around an independence referendum and using his journalistic skills to take on the authorities were two other huge motivators for the Tory man.

He added: “I want to be a strong voice for Paisley at Holyrood and, as a party, we want to block an independence referendum.

“The primary motivation for me getting into politics really was I have become increasingly concerned about nationalism and how anyone who doesn’t believe in what the SNP believe is regarded as some sort of traitor.

“I don’t like the division this is bringing to Scotland.

“The other motivation was I took on the authorities and stood up for people as a journalist and I hope this would be beneficial in parliament.

“The word Tory is used as a dirty word sometimes in Scotland and it shouldn’t be.

“We have an impressive group of MSPs and it is abundantly clear we are the only party that can take on the SNP.”

And the former news reporter insisted recovery from the pandemic would be at the heart of his work if he was elected next month.

“We feel it is so important to focus on schools, jobs, and recovery from the covid crisis,” said Mr Findlay, who hails from Glasgow.

“We’ve got plans for 3,000 new teachers across Scotland and a tutoring programme to help all kids who need to catch up.

“We have put out detailed information about increasing mental health spending, so ten per cent of NHS funding would go towards mental health.

“We’ve also put out information about introducing a victims’ law, which I’ve got a personal interest in.

“We’ve got the policies and I’ve got the personal determination to represent Paisley effectively.”

I took on the authorities and stood up for people as a journalist and I hope this would be beneficial