Russell Findlay has said the Scottish Conservatives will not “turn inwards” if he wins the party’s leadership, as he launched his campaign for the top job with a pitch for unity.

The Tory justice spokesman said there will be “no split, no separation” with the UK party if he becomes leader, saying he wants to recapture the enthusiasm the party had under Ruth Davidson.

Mr Findlay and his supporters highlighted his previous career as an investigative journalist at his campaign launch event at the Glasgow Science Centre on Monday.

MSP Rachael Hamilton said the way Mr Findlay handled the acid attack on himself in December 2015 shows he is not someone who “backs down”.

He is the first contender to hold an official launch event in the race to succeed Douglas Ross – with Murdo Fraser, Brian Whittle, deputy leader Meghan Gallacher, Liam Kerr and Jamie Greene also in the running.

Mr Fraser has said he would set up a commission to assess the relationship between the parties north and south of the border but no longer backs a full split from the UK party as he has previously suggested.

Mr Findlay has set out policies on lowering tax, overhauling the education curriculum, and reducing red tape for businesses.

He told an audience of supporters: “I don’t believe we should turn inwards and debate our party’s structure for years to come.

“Or split away from the UK party. Or form a new party, as some suggest.

“Let’s resolve this here today by saying no thanks to all of that.”

He added: “With me as leader there will be no split, no separation.”

Arguing that, since Scottish independence is not happening in the “foreseeable future”, Mr Findlay said the Scottish Conservatives need to find new purpose beyond the constitutional question.

He said: “Under my leadership, the Scottish Conservatives will once again speak for mainstream Scotland which has been neglected and marginalised during nearly two decades of miserable SNP rule.

“You know the Scotland I mean because you live in it too.

“It’s the world outside the political bubble.”

He said the party has lost the “mojo” of the Davidson era and said it is time to “bring back some sunshine, positivity and hope”.

Taking questions from journalists, Mr Findlay said the Conservatives have defied expectations in the past and can still be a “credible, significant” force after the next Holyrood elections in 2026.

However he acknowledged that whoever becomes the next leader faces an “extraordinary challenge”.

He warned against “infighting” among his colleagues, saying this will turn off voters.

Last week Ms Gallacher quit as deputy leader following reports about the conduct of Mr Ross around the general election, with other leadership candidates saying he has “serious questions” to answer.

The Telegraph reported that Mr Ross had asked a candidate for a Westminster seat if he could replace her in July 2023, a claim he has denied.

On Monday, Mr Findlay said it is important to establish what had happened and the last week’s events showed his party in a “poor light”.

The party’s justice spokesman was also asked if he had ever taken any class A drugs in light of his opposition to decriminalising drugs.

He said he “would not want to be drawn” on his own past.