Cowards who cause terror and death with guns, knives and firebombs will be locked up in prison, pledges Swinney.

First Minister John Swinney and Conservative leader Russell Findlay.

By Bill Heaney

Crime reporter cum politician Russell Findlay, who leads the Scottish Conservative Party, challenged First Minister John Swinney about the “sickening outbreak” gangland violence across the country and beyond.

He told the Scottish Parliament: “In recent weeks, we have witnessed a sickening outbreak of gangland violence across the country. Two Scottish drug dealers have now been shot dead in Spain. Their gang has waged a turf war on Scotland’s streets since the dawn of devolution, which has mutated to include proxy groups, including the US-sanctioned Kinahan cartel.

“Those parasites grow rich by preying on society’s most vulnerable. Those cowards cause terror and death with guns, knives and firebombs. Those thugs go after journalists, politicians, businessmen, police and prison officers. Organised crime is out of control and communities are living in fear. Does John Swinney accept that the Scottish Parliament has failed to tackle organised crime in Scotland?”

Anyone convicted of being part of the gang wars in Scotland will go to jail.

Russell Findlay, who was once the victim of an acid attack by a thug at his home, told MSPs: “John Swinney says that he agrees about the seriousness of organised crime, but, under successive Scottish National Party and Labour Governments, organised crime has rarely been on the agenda. It was not even mentioned in the Scottish Government’s flagship five-year justice strategy—not even once. I got into politics because I could not understand why politicians do not talk about the malevolent reach and devastating harm of organised crime.

“Local front-line policing is absolutely critical. The Scottish Police Federation has said: ‘The bottom line is the intelligence on organised crime groups … and terrorism comes from the communities. If you don’t have community police officers out there patrolling and picking up on that intelligence, then they’re missing out on so much’.

“However, under the SNP, officer numbers have fallen by nearly 1,000. Does John Swinney accept front-line officers’ view that his Government’s decision to reduce police numbers inevitably fuels organised crime?”

The First Minister denied that this was the case. He said: “There are quite a number of flaws in the argument that Russell Findlay has put forward. The first flaw is that a very high number of participants in organised crime activity are currently incarcerated for a very long time in Scotland’s jails, which is contributing to the significant congestion in our prison system.

“One of the operational challenges for the Scottish Prison Service—which is why I admire its work so strongly—is that it has to ensure that our prisons remain safe internally. A number of members of organised crime groups are housed in our prisons, and they cannot be housed together, as that would risk the internal stability in our prisons. That is the type of focused work that the Scottish Prison Service is taking forward.

“The second flaw in Mr Findlay’s argument is in the fact that this Government established the Scottish crime campus, which is viewed across the world as one of the most innovative and successful measures in bringing together all the intelligence gathering services—whether that is Police Scotland, the National Crime Agency or the United Kingdom’s enforcement authorities—in one place. Indeed, it is visited by people from around the world, because it is a leader.

“The third thing is that Mr Findlay said that we never talk about these things. Three times a year, the Government brings together the serious organised crime task force, which involves local authorities, the national health service, Police Scotland, the National Crime Agency, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and various other organisations, to ensure that we tackle the issue. Indeed, the serious organised crime strategy was published in February 2022, updating the actions that the Government is taking.”

Russell Findlay pressed on however. He said: “The First Minister talks about the prisons being safe—tell that to the 10 prison officers whose cars have been fire-bombed outside Scotland’s prisons by organised crime gangs that are fighting for control of the drugs trade inside Scotland’s prisons. There is a dangerous complacency to this Government’s approach.

“We need to stop crime bosses exploiting vulnerable young people. The two men who were shot dead in Spain were groomed for a life of crime. Most of their gang associates are dead or in prison, and now there is an official policy in place that makes young people even more vulnerable to exploitation. Senior Police Scotland officers say that under-25 sentencing guidelines are part of the problem. Detective Superintendent Andy Patrick said: ‘Organised crime groups are exploiting this policy. They are coercing young and vulnerable people to carry out some of these crimes because they’re under reduced risk of imprisonment’.

And he pleaded with the FM: “Will John Swinney rethink his Government’s support of those damaging guidelines?”

The First Minister hit back: “Not for the first time, I cannot allow Mr Findlay’s remarks about the under-25 sentencing guidelines to stand. It is misleading to say to members of the public that there are no consequences for criminal activity by those under the age of 25, because there are. There are very serious consequences, which involve imprisonment.

“We cannot have messages being issued from this Parliament that indicate that there are no consequences for serious criminal activity, because there are, no matter the age of the individual who is involved.

“We as a Parliament cannot have a situation in which we do not properly represent what the law and the sentencing guidelines state, because people could take the wrong conclusions from that.

“Mr Findlay has made a number of remarks about the shootings that took place in Spain in recent days. Those are live police investigations, so I am not able to comment on the particular issues that are being pursued by the Spanish authorities.

“However, I say to Parliament that any individual who is involved in criminal activity, no matter their age, must be aware of the severity of the punishments that exist. That is the right position for people to hear from this Parliament.”

Russell Findlay told him: “I said no such thing. We have top-level crime bosses making millions of pounds from killing vulnerable Scots with their drugs. We were told that the Mr Bigs would be bankrupted by the proceeds of crime law that was passed at the start of devolution, but the law has failed.

“Criminals and their white-collar enablers no longer fear the proceeds of crime legislation, and, 18 months ago, the SNP rejected my call to review why that is not working.

“According to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, one drug dealer made more than £126 million, but it can find only £118,000-worth of his assets. The proceeds of crime legislation needs an urgent and radical overhaul. We must turn the tables on the drug gangs so that they live in fear. Will John Swinney toughen the legislation to make it fit to tackle organised crime in 2025 and beyond?”

The First Minister said: “I am open to ensuring that we have in place the correct legislative framework to deal with criminality in our country. That is why the Government brings forward legislation.

“Mr Findlay is making suggestions about an area of policy that could be considered for strengthening. I am perfectly willing to consider that, because I do not want anybody to benefit from criminal activity in our society, and I want people to be punished accordingly.

“The Government will always keep legislation under review, but it has to be acknowledged that our criminal justice authorities, the police and the Crown Office have been successful in apprehending, imprisoning, interrupting and disrupting organised crime in this country, and I give the public the assurance that, under my Government’s leadership, that will be sustained in the years to come.”

Top of page picture by Spindrift: The two Scottish men with links to a Glasgow-based criminal gang were shot dead at a bar in Spain. Picture by Spindrift