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Russell Findlay
MSP
Russell Findlay MSP
	Official portrait, 2021
Leader of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 27 September 2024
Monarch	Charles III
First Minister	John Swinney
Preceded by	Douglas Ross
Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 27 September 2024
Deputy	Rachael Hamilton
UK party leader	Rishi Sunak (acting); Kemi Badenoch;
Chair	Craig Hoy;
Preceded by	Douglas Ross
Member of the Scottish Parliament; for West Scotland; (1 of 7 Regional MSPs)
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 6 May 2021
Personal details
Born	1972 or 1973 (age 51–52)
Political party	Scottish Conservatives

Russell Findlay is a Scottish politician and journalist who has served as Leader of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament as well as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party since September 2024.^[2] He has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region since 2021.^[3] A member of the Scottish Conservatives, he served as the party's director of communications.^[4]

Journalist career

Findlay worked as a journalist for Scottish Television, the Scottish Sun and Sunday Mail. His investigation into the disappearance of Margaret Fleming was used to help prosecute her killers. He has written three books, one of which is about his acid attack, and co-authored a fourth.^[1]

Acid attack

In December 2015, while working as a journalist for The Sun reporting on gangs in Glasgow, he was subjected to a doorstep acid attack. William Burns disguised himself as a postal worker and threw sulfuric acid on Findlay before attacking with a knife. Findlay managed to hold Burns down long enough for the police to arrive and arrest him. Burns was sentenced to a ten-year jail term with five years of post-release supervision. Ten months before the attack, Gordon Smart, editor of The Sun, received a call that included threats against Findlay, which Smart did not reveal until days after the attack. Findlay initially returned to work for The Sun but later took sick leave and left with an agreement from his employer.^[5]

Political career

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Findlay was selected as the Scottish Conservatives candidate for the Paisley constituency in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Failing to win the seat and coming third, he was elected to the party list as an additional member for the West Scotland region.

On 12 January 2022, Findlay called for Boris Johnson to resign as Conservative party leader and Prime Minister over the Westminster lockdown parties controversy along with a majority of Scottish Conservative MSPs.^[6]

On 27 December 2022, Findlay posted on Twitter a picture of himself holding a merkin, with a group of people in a pub, including Elaine Miller, who had flashed the Scottish Parliament and then those in the gallery, from the gallery, following the conclusion of the last debate on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.^[7] In the post, he criticised the police's decision to investigate Miller over her self-declared indecency.

Leader of the Scottish Conservatives

On 10 June 2024, Douglas Ross announced his intention to resign as leader of the Scottish Conservatives upon the election of his successor.^[8] Findlay, who had been considered a frontrunner for the position, announced his candidacy for leader on 22 July.^[9] Facing fellow MSPs Murdo Fraser and Meghan Gallacher,^[10] Findlay received 52% of MSP endorsements and was elected leader with 61.7% of the first-preference vote among party members.^[11] He assumed leadership of the party and was appointed Leader of the Opposition on 27 September. He appointed his Shadow Cabinet on 8 October.^[12]