Russell Findlay - @RussellFindlay1

A FORMER soldier who supplied British Army explosives to the Daniel crime clan was accused of threatening to torch the HQ of Scotland's biggest cab firm. Martyn Fitzsimmons, 37, allegedly terrorised staff at Glasgow Private Hire (GPH), which is owned by Paisley businessman Stevie Malcolm, 54. The former lance corporal in the Royal Regiment of Scotland is said to have made the threat in a call to the firm's office in the city's east end in March. Fitzsimmons faces a lengthy jail term as a senior member of a cocaine gang which police say was " at the top of the chain " in Scotland. He and eight other men pled guilty to a string of charges involving guns, drugs and violence and will be sentenced in  January  2018. The ex-squaddie was accused of making the call to Malcolm's office along with the attempted murder of Lyons mob thug Ross Monaghan outside a primary school in Penilee, Glasgow, in January. But in a deal with prosecutors, his not...

A PROVOST and four councillors are being probed by the Fraud Squad over alleged dodgy expenses claims. Detectives have submitted a report to prosecutors over cash paid to Renfrewshire leader Ronnie Burns and colleague Celia Lawson.  And the police are examining expenses claimed by depute leader Tommy Williams, Mark Macmillan and SNP group leader Derek Mackay.  The investigation was sparked by retired businessman Tom Gatley, 66, who used freedom of information laws to obtain all 40 Renfrewshire councillors' expenses sheets since 2000.  He studied 7000 documents and claims he found disturbing evidence of over-claiming.  Gatley says the documents show that:  Provost Burns claimed for car mileage on consecutive days - although he has access to an official Jaguar. He also claimed expenses for meals when official meals were provided.  Williams' expenses sheets claim he worked on council duties for at least 11 hours daily - entitling h...

A ROGUE lawyer overcharged by £15,583 while dealing with the multi-million pound estate of a dead friend. Torquil Macleod, 63, took £33,533 in fees over five years following the death of his client and friend in 2007. Auditors found that the correct charge for Macleod’s work should have been £17,314. The dead client, whose identity has been withheld by legal regulators, left an estate worth £4.4million, which included properties in England. The Inverness-based solicitor’s " grossly excessive " fees were discovered during a Law Society of Scotland routine audit in 2014. It found that in 2012 he took £10,200 - when he was entitled to just £18. The Law Society referred Macleod to the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal who found him guilty of professional misconduct and fined him £3,000. Macleod’s lawyer said that his professional relationship with the late client had “ grown into a friendship ”. He also said the overcharging happened while ...