Who is new Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay?

Russell Findlay has been chosen as the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

The former investigative journalist was the first candidate to launch his campaign to be party leader after Douglas Ross said he was standing down.

He was considered an early favourite, announcing his candidacy before the format of the contest had been decided.

Findlay has been an MSP for West of Scotland since 2021 and was previously the party's justice spokesperson at Holyrood.

During his journalism career he wrote books on gangland crime and was the victim of an acid attack in 2015, when an assailant appeared at his door disguised as a postman.

Given the risks in his previous career, Findlay was known for maintaining privacy in his personal life.

He grew up in Glasgow and was educated at Douglas Academy, a state school in the suburb of Milngavie to the north of the city.

He studied journalism at Edinburgh Napier University - when it was still known as Napier polytechnic - before a 30-year career in newspapers and broadcasting covering organised crime in Scotland.

He worked for the Sunday Mail, Scottish Sun, STV and several other outlets.

Findlay's identity always remained hidden, with a silhouette photo beside his byline.

"Nobody ever knew what he looked like until he became a politician," says Gill Smith, his friend and editor of the Scottish Sun.

"He was very good at his job – that’s of course why he was targeted," she said.

"The gangsters didn’t like that he was mixing it up for them or exposing them or sticking their names in the paper."

Acid attack

Findlay was a journalist and author covering organised crime in Scotland

In 2015, two days before Christmas, Findlay survived an attack on his front doorstep in front of his young daughter.

A man sent by a criminal gang threw acid in his face.

He has authored several books, including Acid Attack: A Journalist's War With Organised Crime, which he wrote following the attack.

In July, after he announced he would stand as party leader, Police Scotland warned Findlay of a threat to his life by a "known criminal".

He said the threat was believed to be linked to the acid attack case.

But Findlay said he was "not going to let gangland threats" stop him from running for the role.

He said: "You can't run away from threats. It does not work. You have to be defiant and stand firm for what you believe in."

Political move

Findlay is announced as new Scottish Tory leader

Findlay moved into politics in 2020, becoming the director of communications for the Scottish Conservatives before he was elected as an MSP.

He has campaigned on justice issues including support for prison officers to stop drug-soaked mail from entering prisons.

His leadership campign was backed by colleagues Rachael Hamilton, Douglas Lumsden and Miles Briggs and former Scottish Conservatives leader Ruth Davidson.

Findlay said he had run to shake up the "cosy socialist consensus at Holyrood" and replace it with one around "common-sense conservative values".

When his victory was announced, he said the party needed to "start the hard work right now to win back public trust."

He said: "I want to deliver the message to people across Scotland who do not feel that anyone represents them, who are scunnered by the divisiveness and fringe obsessions of the Scottish Parliament, who feel let down and failed by politicians of every single party, including ours, who think politicians are all the same.

"I feel that way - I get it, but I'm not the same."