The editor of a renowned city crime magazine has had his car ignited in an alleged attack of intimidation.
The Digger publisher James Cruickshank claims he was at home on the evening of Sunday, November 1 before he heard loud noises emerging from outside.
Speaking to the Press Gazette, Mr Cruickshank described the scene in his back garden as "horrendous".
He said: "We were really lucky the house didn’t go on fire because the vehicle was parked close to the house. Everyone’s surprised the house never got a mark apart from smoke damage."
It is understood on the same night of the attack, the culprits also visited 30 newsagents in Glasgow that stock the crime magazine to force intimidation upon shopkeepers to halt their sales of the weekly publication. This is however not confirmed.
Mr Cruickshank added: “We know who went round the two shops which stopped selling it. Apparently, he wasn’t aggressive but with these gangsters, you just have to see them and you do what they want.
“I knew it was coming at some point. I was waiting for it to come. But you never expect it to come. What I fear now is when’s it going to happen again?”
In 2016, we reported on a targeted attack of men delivering the popular crime magazine to Glasgow addresses.
READ MORE: 'Disgusting and cowardly': Cops link two targeted attacks on The Digger delivery drivers
A 37-year-old man was within a white van when he was assaulted by a group of around four men with knives.
Commenting on the attack four years ago, Mr Cruickshank said: “I think they thought it was me but at the same time they don’t really care, they just want to intimidate you to stop doing what you’re doing.”
The National Union of Journalist's Michelle Stanistreet said: “This is a deliberate attempt to silence journalists & curtail the right to report on crime & corruption."
The magazine was founded by James Cruickshank in 2004, and focuses on stories about local organised crime and alleged corruption, sometimes also naming alleged local drug dealers and pedophiles.
We have approached Police Scotland on the alleged fire attack, however they could not provide comment on individual cases.
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel