A SCOTTISH investigative journalist who suffered an acid attack on his doorstep will next week name the man he believes may have ordered it to be carried out.
The man is identified in a new book by Russell Findlay, to be published next week.
Mr Findlay, 45, who has investigated organised crime for many years, was confronted on his doorstep of his Glasgow West End home shortly before Christmas 2015, by William ‘Basil’ Burns, who was disguised as a postman.
Burns threw sulphuric acid in his face, but the journalist was still able to overpower and detain him before police arrived. A knife and a broken set of dentures were found at the scene. Mr Findlay has made a full recovery since the incident.
Last July Burns was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of assaulting the journalist to the danger of his life. After the jury’s verdict, Burns’s extensive criminal record was revealed to the court, including a 15-year sentence in 2001 for shooting a woman in a post office robbery in Linwood, Renfrewshire. He received a 15-year sentence for the acid attack, with 10 years in custody and supervision for five years after his release.
Afterwards, Mr Findlay wrote that Burns “was a paid hitman, hired by a very wealthy organised criminal.” He added that neither Police Scotland nor the Crown Office “has shown any inclination to bring this man to justice.”
Mr Findlay says he has passed details onto the police and the Crown Office but has spoken of his frustration that the man has not yet been brought to justice.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said yesterday: "A full investigation was carried out which resulted in the conviction of William Burns last year for assault."
A Crown Office spokesman said: "Careful consideration will be given to any reports of alleged criminal conduct which are submitted by the police, or any specialist reporting agency, to the Procurator Fiscal.
"Criminal proceedings will be raised if the reports contain sufficient evidence of a crime and if it is appropriate and in the public interest to do so."
• Full interview with Russell Findlay in today’s Arts magazine
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