Findlay felt capable of killing attacker but says 'I'm not a scrapper'

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has insisted he is "not a scrapper" after writing that he felt capable of killing a man who attacked him.

The former investigative journalist was working for the Sun newspaper in 2015 when a man, disguised as a postman, knocked on his door and threw corrosive liquid in his face.

In the early pages of his book, Findlay describes how he eventually saw that the man had been carrying a serrated knife. He said this made him want to drag the man from a police van and "rip him to pieces".

Speaking to the BBC's Scotcast, Findlay – now in his 50s - said his account was "completely accurate" and that he did not believe anyone else would have behaved any differently.

"I've got a punch bag in the garage but I'm not a scrapper," he said, adding that his actions at the time were about self preservation.

The written account tells how Findlay felt "joyful" when he "hammered" his fist so hard into his attacker's face that his set of dentures flew from his mouth and broke in two.

Challenged on his word choice, he told the podcast: "The fury that someone would turn up at a family home… and conduct an attack which could have been life changing and could have been life ending, that's exactly how I felt in those moments."

Findlay says "the red mist came down" when he saw the knife, in part because his 10-year-old daughter had witnessed the attack.

Asked whether it was unusual for a person to stand as their country's leader after admitting they could have stabbed a man to death, Findlay responded: "To be fair, he started it."

The Scottish Conservative leader also turned his attention to Reform UK, saying it was "not a unionist party" and was fielding "pro-independence" candidates.

The party's leader in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, has said he would not necessarily block another independence referendum but insisted it should be delayed for 10 years.

Meanwhile, Findlay said "never again" to the question of another referendum.

Asked if he would poach any politicians from other parties, he said there were "a few good Tories in the SNP".

Findlay also described how he had tried to "sign up Kate Forbes a few months ago" at a Highland show.

In a videoed stunt, Findlay went up to the deputy first minister, who happened to be using a Conservative-branded pen, and offered her a membership form.

Forbes declined the offer.

Findlay was speaking to the BBC podcast in the latest in a series of interviews with party leaders ahead of May's Holyrood election.

Interviews with Gillian Mackay of the Scottish Greens, Reform UK's Malcolm Offord, Alex Cole-Hamilton of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Scottish Labour's Anas Sarwar and John Swinney of the SNP will also be published in March.