Earlier career due diligence...
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Company Director: Russell McLean
Police Credentials: Part 1
We are preparing for the likely Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) registration of our two main organisations that evolved from the 1999 public limited company: Unique Property plc (here and here). In 2007 we took the public company into private ownership because a “plc” can be expensive to run if a critical mass is not reached. Now 18 years later and we have 10,000 readers that peak up to 186,000. Plus regular requests from readers folk to join the Unique Property Mischief Club (formerly “syndicates: here). So we are preparing the private companies: Unique Property Bulletin Ltd (here) and Unique Property Mischief Club (here); to become a “plc” again. That requires due diligence protocols to harmonise with the new full disclosure principles, as is evident in regularly updated financial conduct laws (eg: here). So this page and others like it, discloses career path credentials of the specific Unique Property Group directors. In this case Russell McLean…
^^ Many Arrests Ago ^^ ^^ Constable Russell McLean & Sheena McGillivray ^^ ^^ During Police Service ^^ ^^ On The Islands of Islay & Jura 1985 ^^
Russell McLean is Managing Director of
Unique Property Bulletin Ltd.
So knowing something about him is of
legitimate interest to our shareholders.
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This Segment: Police Service Bona Fides
Constable Russell McLean
=> Pass: Basic Training: Strathclyde Police Service, Glasgow HQ.
=> Pass: Professional (1) Training: Tulliallan Police College.
=> Pass: Advanced Police Driver Blue-Light Course: Tulliallan Police College.
=> Pass: Professional (2) Advanced Training: Tulliallan Police College.
=> Pass: Two Year Probation Period.
=> Confirmed: In The Rank of Police Constable.
=> Advanced: Station Officer Shift Command Duties.
=> Deployment: Relief: CID. Career Choice Assessment.
=> Deployment: Relief: Traffic Department: C.C.A.
=> Deployment: Relief: Rural Beat Duties: C.C.A.
=> Assignment: Lochgilphead: Station Officer Relief.
=> Assignment: Island of Islay: One-Person Police Station.
=> Assignment: Island of Jura: One-Person Police Patrols.
=> Assignment: Island of Gigha: Two-Person Police Patrols.
=> Assignment: Divisional HQ Training Officer Duties.
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Police Service Bona Fides: Russell McLean
Credentials: Part 2
There can often be some legitimate curiosity as to why a serving police officer departs an otherwise promising police career earlier than the 25 years expected? A “normal” retirement age is 50 to 60 years and time in the job is 25 to 35 years (here).
In the case of police officer McLean, a disabling spinal deterioration and latterly diagnosed PTSD led to parting ways with a job he loved. Ergo the reason for Russell McLean leaving the employ of the police service was on ill-health grounds.
For the purposes of this due diligence page, and in order that full transparency on this matter is given, the official records state that there are no demerits nor complaints on the service records of this police officer.
Russell McLean’s departure from Strathclyde Police was due to the cumulative effects of three spinal injuries. All of which were sustained whilst on duty.
Penultimately in July 1994 these injuries were diagnosed as inexorably headed to paralysis from the waist down. Worse, in extremis they were life-limiting without the required spinal surgery (as of 2025 there is the option of more surgery on an elective basis). For sure, McLean did not want to become a British version of SFPD Chief Ironside (here).
These are the official certification documents that can be placed in the public domain for due diligence…
^^ Police Service Summary Excerpt: Russell McLean ^^
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The only public comment that might have an initial adverse reaction relates to a charity founded by McLean in 1997 following the death of a friend by debt-suicide (charity #1: here).
The bank that held charity funds had “lost” those funds.
Consequently…
A client of the Creditcare Money Advice Charity (established by Mr McLean in 1997) referenced a legal bank building purchase + renovation + resale (with a somewhat dark sense of humour) as a “bank heist” due to the £48,000 surplus (legally) extracted from the bank being given to the charity.
The £48,000 raised for charitable and not-for-profit philanthropic purposes is referenced in more detail elsewhere.
This third-party external referencing brings into purview, matters such “positive vetting.” This is relevant to the of this director insofar as the “positive vetting” is a matter that still has relevance. This is as a result of the patron at the second charity formed (via the good offices of Unique Property Bulletin supporters) and established by Russell McLean and his colleague, Iain Sim. That patron being HRH Princess Anne.
The charity, Friends of TS Queen Mary (Just Google: FOTSQM) is very fortunate in being saved from a shaky start, thanks to a startlingly high boost in fundraising, which went from from £5,000 per annum to over £450,000 per annum to the charity thanks largely to the Royal Patron, HRH Princess Anne…
However, because of the horrendous firearm and kidnapping attempt on 20th March 1974 and Princess Anne’s reply to the kidnapper to go with him at gunpoint…
Click Here
…all trustees past and present, require a continual monitoring of security fitness to meet with the charity patron when these occasions arise. For example, when HRH Princess Anne visits the actual ship owned by the charity: TS Queen Mary.
^^ Due Diligence & Positive Vetting ^^
^^ Extend Beyond The Purposes of This Website ^^
^^ This Is Understandable After Events of March 1974 ^^
In addition, the next screenshot below ended up within debate on the floor of the House of Commons. At that level such declarations and transparency may be deemed relevant on a security health-check basis.
Similarly click here – whilst disclosure of media references is not statutorily advised, we (here) believe it is better to let those whom the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are tasked to protect as whether the matters disclosed are relevant or not.
^^ Constable Jackie Law & Russell McLean ^^
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Advisory: Please note, below this point are MRI scan medical images of internal body parts such as the spinal column and body cut-away slice-through scans.
If you have an aversion to medical images, perhaps cease scrolling down and revert to the main page.
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Injuries On Duty During Police Service: Russell McLean
Disability Proof: Credentials: Part 3
(i). During this career path in Strathclyde Police, constable McLean sustained what appeared to be a minor back injury rescuing a waterlogged casualty from the harbour.
(ii). Several month later, during a remote helicopter casualty evacuation., the emergency was under-crewed. There were two paramedics required at one end of a stretcher (to administer life-saving protocols) bearing a seriously injured farmer requiring a lift onto a hovering air-ambulance helicopter. The aircraft could not land due to the boggy, unstable nature of the terrain. So the pilot was unable to assist with lifting the stretcher on-board. Constable McLean managed to lift the other end of the stretcher (solo) onto the ambulance helicopter. Miraculously the casualty survived. However, the spinal injury became worse.
(iii). The third and police career-ending injury was a casualty choking to death. The casualty was wedged in a position that had rendered him incapable of exiting. Then after cyanosis was witnessed on the patients face and hands, the casualty had become unconscious. As this was not a Road Traffic Accident nor similar high-impact-trauma event, and no neck injuries were likely, the casualty was safely extracted. The patient survived. Unfortunately, due to the rural nature of the incident, there were no immediate back-up emergency service crew available. The manoeuvre lifting a very large, unconscious casualty, single headedly caused a third, cumulative back injury that can be clearly seen on the following MRI scans.
During 1994 the deterioration of this reached a point where paraplegia was indicated by the neurological surgeon. So spinal surgery to remove the prolapsed intervertebral disc at L5/S1 was required and completed.
Evidence:-
^^ MRI Scan of L5/S1 Disc Prolapse: Patient: Russ McLean ^^
Copyright Owned by Russ McLean CC BY-SA 4.0 Public Domain Use of This Image Is Permitted For Educational Purposes: Click Here.
^^ MRI Scan of L5/S1 Disc Prolapse: Patient: Russ McLean ^^
Copyright Owned by Russ McLean CC BY-SA 4.0 Public Domain Use of This Image Is Permitted For Educational Purposes: Click Here.
^^ MRI Scan of L5/S1 Disc Prolapse: Patient: Russ McLean ^^
Copyright Owned by Russ McLean CC BY-SA 4.0 Public Domain Use of This Image Is Permitted For Educational Purposes: Click Here.
McLean had moved down from his home on the Island of Davaar to London for employment. Principally to earn sufficient capital funds to restart a ferry service back home between Argyll, in Scotland and Antrim in Northern Ireland. The purpose being to help improve the fragile economies on either side of the North Channel.
Hence the surgery was performed at a London commuter proximity hospital…
^^ MRI Scan of L5/S1 Disc Prolapse: Patient: Russ McLean ^^
Copyright Owned by Russ McLean & Christchurch Park Hospital. CC BY-SA 4.0 Public Domain Use of This Image Is Permitted For Educational Purposes: Click Here.
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Unfortunately, a subsequent accident: falling from a 2-storey building near to London, led to the good surgical work completed by the neurosurgeon, Dr Sharp in July 1994, being severely damaged.
As a result, severe spinal disability resulted and by 1999 was deemed permanent: insofar as operating through scar tissue from the earlier spinal adhesions and surgery would make paraplegia a significantly more probable outcome in the circumstances.
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Further narrative and perspective to assist with understanding these events and subsequent career path are provided in this social media excerpt…
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^^ Additional Information: Click On Links Above ^^
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Police Service: Russell McLean
Summation – Career Elements: Part 4
^^ Excerpt From A Short article About Rural Policing ^^
^^ At The Scottish Police College, Tulliallan ^^
^^ At Tulliallan Police College Training ^^
In the 1980s, there were very few SLR cameras, and certainly no phone-cameras around.
So please accept our apologies for the low-resolution, poor quality of what is available from very old, grainy hand developed film stock….
^^ Russ McLean At Tulliallan Police College ^^
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Police Service: Russell McLean
Summation
Rely on State Disability Benefits
OR…
Adapt For Work
Part 5
The civilian staff member at human resources in Strathclyde Police HQ was somewhat blunt in her assessment…
“McLean, you are no use to us as a cop in that condition (spinal disability).”
“Why don’t you go for disability retiral? It is a generous package plus State Benefits. You can put your feet up and watch the new daytime television.”
This was incredibly insulting, even back in the 1980s where culture and Glasgow were less understanding of people with disabilities.
McLean replied…
“With respect…
Aye’ that’ll be right.”
In Scotland, the term “Aye Right” can be a polite way of suggesting a person go away as their views are ill advised and unwelcome.
McLean’s final words to the human resources manager were…
“Now if you will excuse me, I have a new job to find and your advice is as welcome as a skunk at a picnic.”
What happened next, indeed for decades, is an unusual way of living life for a disabled ex-cop.
No doubt Russ will narrate a lot of the bland content of this due-diligence page elsewhere.
This page is predominantly written by one of the Unique Property Bulletin team to make best efforts at avoiding a conflict of interest.
The Unique Property plc/Unique Property Bulletin Ltd., book-keeper was sorting through several boxes of old files last year and put this summary table of projects together. Predominantly for the motivation of our volunteers here…
^^ This Is What Happened Next ^^
^^ In Fact This Is An Older Summary ^^
^^ As At 2025/2026 There Are More Than ^^
^^ 64 New Jobs To Be Added ^^
^^Plus 6 More Building Renovations Completed ^^
Rather than follow a Strathclyde Police human-resources manager and put his feet up whist…
Claiming State Benefits and wasting his life watching the new daytime television.”
Russ McLean left Strathclyde Police and a job, from those who knew/know him, that he evidently loved.
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An important point and may have been missed in the notes for this page…
The medical staff have asked that Russ be open about disability as this can be helpful to others in similar circumstance (even though this report has been difficult to narrate). Russ has emphasised, he is old-school and would prefer not to talk about private health matters and old wounds from time in uniform.
But the clinical staff at Ninewells Hospital advise that…
“The sharing of positive experiences, in spite of disability, can and does help others, who follow a similar path.”
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In this example, the next decades were spent making reasonable adjustments” as per the Equality Act 2010… real and meaningful adjustments to enable volunteering and constructive ways to live life, in spite of the afflictions: to help friends with disabilities and ill health.
As a consequence, this is one of the results:
The taxpayer has been saved from paying out £285,000 in benefits over a lifetime to Russ McLean according to our book-keeper.
We were wondering if there might be a way to repeat this for others as the current HM Chancellor is in a bit of a difficult position and having those people with disabilities, who then become adept at problem-soling… join in to help balance the HM Treasury books might be a useful idea?
As for charities established and jobs created, that analysis would really need to be considered by a third party, independent of anything that is happens at Unique Property Bulletin or the Unique Property Mischief Club.
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When reviewing this page, Russ did ask for one note to be put in…
His main fear has been a wasted life.
The 203 jobs created and 81 buildings renovated, plus charities registered should, we hope, allay some of those fears.
McLean concluded…
“None of this could have been done without the help of friends, to whom an unpayable debt of gratitude will always be owed.“
A recently rediscovered poem, written by Jack London and narrated by Ralph Fiennes, was mentioned by Russ at coffee break time this afternoon (11th September 2025). We were, of course, remembering those that had perished in New York 24 years ago. We went around the friends at this table.
Russ said his North Star can be summed up by these words…
“The proper function of man is to live, not to exist.
I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them.
I shall use my time”.
There is an irony and indeed a comfort that a person labelled “unemployable” by a civilian human resources manager at Strathclyde Police, has gone on to create at least 203 new jobs, whilst not claiming State Benefits to which his medical condition rendered him thoroughly eligible.
Plus many adventures along the way. This website will evolve into a formal record of the finances, plus each project undertaken and completed across many, many years of disability.
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