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A councillor who says he has been driven out of his home by criminals has claimed that Scotland risks becoming a “lawless society” as he steps back from politics following a campaign of intimidation that has left him “broken”.
Graeme Campbell, who lives within the South Lanarkshire town of Strathaven – best known for its hot air balloon festival – has been targeted by fire and acid attacks 3 times within the past three years, the newest one happening last weekend.
The Conservative councillor is for certain that the attacks were administered by criminals as a results of work he was doing in his elected role, supporting constituents who have suffered similar acts of intimidation and violence.
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“As I walk off from Scottish politics and that we start new lives elsewhere , i would like people to know what it actually means once you allow organised crime to run the country,” Campbell said.
“This isn’t just happening to us. is that this what Scotland has become? When someone strikes a match you lose control of what happens next. this is often happening in west central Scotland hebdomadally . Have we become such a lawless society that folks don’t care?”
The intimidation began in May 2019, Campbell said, when his car was petrol-bombed, and therefore the blaze spread to the house he shared together with his wife, Fiona.
Then, in September 2020, two cars outside the property were vandalised with a corrosive substance and a house window was smashed while they slept.
And on Saturday 19 June, two cars were assail fire within the driveway, with the blaze again spreading to the family home, which suffered extensive damage.
DCI Martin McGhee said a male suspect was believed to possess poured an accelerant on to the vehicles then made his escape on foot.
“We believe he may have sustained burn injuries to his arms, body and face as a results of using the accelerant and would ask anyone who has any knowledge of a person who may have suffered from burn injuries in suspicious circumstances since the weekend to please come to the fore .”
The personal toll has been immense, Campbell said. “I’m an IT guy, I’ve been solving business problems for over 30 years and that i went into local politics to offer something back to the community i really like .
“But I haven’t slept for the past two years – Fiona and that i are driven out of our home and our lives are being ruined. Nothing could have prepared us for this level of violence and intimidation.”
He added: “People drive past the house and see the hearth damage, but behind that hole was our bedroom, each piece of clothing we owned, two-thirds of the house has been destroyed.
“Last weekend my wife and that i were sitting within the front garden watching our house burn down within the only clothes we then owned. If we had done something negligent that’s one thing, but this is often being done to us. Both folks are broken.”
Campbell said that, while the primary two investigations had been closed down very quickly with no arrests made, he was “taking comfort” from the very fact the police were taking this latest incident very seriously.
“I want to ascertain the police join the dots and that i want to ascertain justice wiped out this area. Strathaven is such a gorgeous town; nobody deserves this level of violence and intimidation.”
There are a spate of deliberate car fires in west central Scotland in recent months. The Guardian is conscious of seven incidents around Glasgow and Ayrshire since the beginning of June, and in May there was a series of attacks on high-profile businessmen, including the previous Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell.
CCTV showed a person pouring an accelerant on three vehicles outside a property in Thorntonhall, South Lanarkshire, and therefore the blaze spread to the detached two-storey house. Inquiries are continuing altogether cases, and there’s no suggestion that they’re linked. No arrests are made.
The Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay, who has been supporting Campbell, said: “There does appear to be an escalation within the use of this tactic of intimidation by those that think the principles don’t apply to them.
“It is bad enough when criminals use fire against other criminals but to focus on legitimate people takes it to a replacement level and suggests an arrogant confidence that they will act with impunity.
“They may began to intimidate but their actions can kill. we’ve already seen horrific incidents where entire families were murdered in fire attacks and, given their current prevalence, it could easily happen again.
“It is deeply concerning that an elected representative in Scotland feels unable to try to to his job safely due to the threat from organised crime. The criminal justice response must be robust – none folks want to measure during a society of mob rule.”
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