Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has said he refuses to be cowed by criminals, even though he believes there is a possibility he could be attacked again. His comments came as William Burns, the hitman who threw acid at him in 2015, was released from prison.
Findlay, who was working as an investigative journalist for The Sun newspaper at the time of the attack, said he received a letter a few weeks ago telling him Burns would be leaving prison this week. The MSP said organised crime groups may still have "unfinished business" with him.
Two years ago, Findlay revealed that Police Scotland had warned him of a potential threat to his life from a "known criminal".
Findlay was a well known crime reporter when he was attacked on the doorstep of his Glasgow home two days before Christmas in 2015. Burns, now aged 65, knocked on his door disguised as a postman, threw a corrosive liquid in his face and then tried to stab him with a knife.
Burns was jailed in 2017 over the acid attack. He is a violent career criminal who had previously been jailed for shooting a woman during an armed robbery, and he was sentenced to 10 years in jail with another five years of supervision after his release.
The motive for the attack has never been clearly established, but it is suspected to have been a hit ordered because of Findlay's investigative journalism about organised crime groups.
Findlay, who later entered politics and became the Scottish Conservative leader in 2024, said he was not afraid of Burns or his associates, but the risk of a future attack remained on his mind. He said the possibility that some people might see the attack as "unfinished business" was always there.
"It's not the first thing I think of when I wake up, but there's always the kind of possibility that some of these people might regard this as unfinished business. That I've caused them problems in the past and maybe continue to do so."
Findlay said organised crime groups had shown they were capable of attacking politicians, citing the example of a Conservative councillor who quit in 2021 after firebomb attacks. He said he had raised that case when he first became an MSP because he believed the "targeting of politicians you might expect to see in places like Mexico is happening in Scotland".
He said he would not change how he lived his life and would continue trying to shine a spotlight on organised crime.
"That's the only option because if you show weakness they're not going to back down," he said.
What did Findlay say about the parole process?
The West of Scotland MSP said family members and friends were concerned for his safety, but he argued it was "academic" whether or not Burns was behind bars because he had been targeted by wider crime networks, not just one individual.
He also criticised the parole process in Scotland, claiming it was "shrouded in secrecy", and said the justice system in Scotland had "no real regard for the victim".
Would Findlay forgive Burns?
Asked whether he would forgive Burns for his crimes, Findlay said no. He said the attack was calculated, targeted and extreme, and could have left him dead or maimed for life.
"No."
"What he did was calculated, it wasn't some spontaneous crime... It was very targeted and extreme, and the outcome could have been my death or being maimed for life.
"So I have no tendency to forgive that individual.
"This is an enforcer, a hitman, for a major organised crime group in Scotland which has inflicted untold damage to many innocent people."
What else did he say about organised crime?
Findlay encouraged police and prosecutors to examine a number of unsolved murders in Paisley in the 1990s, saying Burns had "questions to answer" in relation to them.
He said organised crime had caused serious harm to many innocent people and insisted he would keep speaking out despite the risks.
Burns' release follows a case that has remained closely associated with concern over the threat posed by organised crime figures to journalists and politicians in Scotland. Findlay's attack, carried out outside his Glasgow home shortly before Christmas in 2015, left him shaken but without permanent scarring.
The incident was witnessed by Findlay's then 12-year-old daughter, and the leader has since said that threats linked to organised crime are not something he intends to ignore or retreat from.
He said again that he would continue to challenge those groups publicly, even if that meant living with the possibility of another attack.
Key Facts
- Russell Findlay was attacked at his Glasgow home on two days before Christmas in 2015 while working for The Sun newspaper.
- William Burns, disguised as a postman, threw a corrosive liquid believed to be sulphuric acid at Findlay and tried to stab him with a knife.
- Burns, now 65, was jailed in 2017 and sentenced to 10 years with five years of supervision after release.
- Findlay said he had received a letter a few weeks ago saying Burns would leave prison this week.
- Findlay became Scottish Conservative leader in 2024 and says he will continue to expose organised crime.
