Police urged to investigate possible links between Old Firm arson attacks

CCTV image of man at Peter Lawwell’s home ahead of fire attack

Police have been urged to investigate apparent similarities between firebomb attacks on two Old Firm figures.

Police Scotland last week released a picture taken from a CCTV camera of a man they want to speak to in connection with an attack at ex-Celtic chief Peter Lawwell’s home in May. He and his family were forced to flee after three cars were set alight in his driveway.

The fire-raising attack came after a luxury car parked in the drive of Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor’s home near Glasgow was torched in September. Footage from security cameras there also recorded the attack.

A source who has seen both sets of footage believes the man in the picture released by police could be the same person in images captured by security cameras at McGregor’s home.

They said: “There is film from two cameras, one of them is on the car and you see two men coming into shot. One goes around the car pouring petrol on it and another then lights it up. His build and his clothes look identical to the man in the picture released by the police on Thursday.

“They look the same sort of age and build and are wearing black trousers, hoodies and trainers. Given the similarities in what happened at both homes then surely the police have to be commissioning detailed analysis of both sets of footage to establish if there is a connection.”

“We haven’t slept in two years:” Councillor quits after continued firebomb attacks on his home

Lawwell, the recently retired Celtic chief executive, and his family were forced to flee after three cars were set alight at his £2 million home in Thortonhall on May 19.

The blaze badly damaged a wing of the home where Lawwell’s daughter and baby granddaughter were sleeping. The fireraiser was seen on camera pouring “accelerant” before flames spread to a garage annexe.

The fire at Lawwell’s home is one of a series of driveway attacks in the west of Scotland, including an incident at the home of a Conservative politician.

Councillor Graeme Campbell and his wife, Fiona, were forced to flee their home in Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, after two cars in the driveway were torched at midnight on Saturday, June 26. The councillor, who is quitting politics, believes the fire was linked to his opposition to organised crime.

Campbell, whose property was also firebombed in 2019, told The Post last month: “I have to quit. We haven’t slept in two years. With every bump and thump in the night, you’re up and looking out the windows. Even if it is something as innocuous as a lorry driving over a grate, you’re awake.”

In May, nightclub owner James Mortimer had two vehicles torched on the driveway of his home in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, while businessman Brendan Hegarty’s home in Glasgow’s west end was damaged by fire after two attacks within 24 hours.

At the time, police said they were not linking four attacks involving the property of Lawwell, Mortimer, Hegarty and McGregor and that there was no evidence of any connection to organised crime. Last month they said they were “keeping an open mind as to the motives”.

Police Scotland declined to comment on ongoing inquiries but said anyone who has information about any of the incidents should call 101.