A former journalist who survived an acid attack has explained his decision to go into politics in a speech to the Conservative Party Conference.

Tory MSP Russell Findlay, who used to be a crime reporter at Glasgow’s Sunday Mail, told the conference he was inspired to stand for election after the gangster behind the attack “evaded justice.”

Russell was attacked at his home two days before Christmas 2015 while his 10-year-old daughter slept upstairs. William Burns, the hitman who carried out the assault, was later jailed for his crime.

He also told the Birmingham gathering that the aftermath of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum also influenced his decision.

Russell, pictured, was appointed director of communications for the Tories in Scotland in September 2020 and he was elected to Holyrood the following year as an additional Conservative member for the West Scotland region.

Discussing the 2015 attack, he told the conference: “My 10-year-old daughter came downstairs to see me fighting for my life. She could have come downstairs to find me dead. The hitman was restrained, handed over to police and is still behind bars.

“The millionaire gangster who put out the contract on me evaded justice. For years I had reported on victims being treated with indifference and contempt by the system.

“I then learned exactly how they felt. I am scunnered by Scotland’s justice system and determined to give voice to crime victims as an MSP.”

He added: “But that’s not the main reason why I am here today. After the 2014 independence referendum — in which the people of Scotland rejected the SNP’s destructive obsession — I assumed that politics would return to normal.

“But the SNP refused to get on with the day job. They refused to do what was right for Scotland and our people.

“I realised that if people like me and you, the quiet majority, did not speak out then noisy nationalist voices would dominate. I have become increasingly concerned about our society under SNP rule.

“I have seen our cherished values and our institutions – education, justice, free speech – eroded by these political careerists. Those are the fundamental reason why I stood for election.”