By Russell Findlay

Young drivers dreaming of Formula One stardom placed their faith in karting team owner Andrew Fairley, who was trusted to take them away overnight to races across the UK.

But team members and their parents had no idea the 55-year-old was previously convicted of child sexual abuse. STV News has established that in 1996, Fairley admitted indecently assaulting a boy aged between ten and 14 in Edinburgh, where he then lived.

He went on to run Larkhall-based Clan Racing for more than two decades, apparently without any background checks being made. His past only came to light when a new child abuse allegation was reported to police in 2017.

Like the football abuse scandal, our findings raise questions about child protection in entry-level motorsport, where F1 stars such as Lewis Hamilton began their careers. How, parents and charities ask, could a convicted sex offender hide in plain sight by running a prominent racing team which gave him access to children for more than 20 years?

Sandra Brown, founder of the Moira Anderson Foundation charity, which helps those affected by childhood sexual abuse, suggests that "information sharing is not good enough", adding: "There are still far too many loopholes obviously when an individual like this can do what he's done."

Following his conviction, mechanic Fairley moved to Dunoon, Argyll, where he worked in a garage, became an active community member and launched Clan Racing.

But in 2017, a 23-year-old man told police he had been abused by Fairley over several years, starting when he was nine. The alleged victim was a family friend who claimed he was groomed and sexually assaulted while travelling with the race team in the mid-2000s.

Motherwell-based detectives investigated and sent a report to the Crown Office, which said that "after careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case ... there should be no proceedings taken at this time".

In an interview with STV News, the man's sister told of their shock at discovering the background of Fairley, who was "like an uncle" to them.

She said: "It's just astonishing that he was a convicted child abuser the whole time, within our family, within the community, within karting and I don't think anybody knows that because we certainly didn't.

"I couldn't believe that that would be possible. When I've looked into the current safeguarding policies, they've only recently come in place.

"So up until very recently there was no checks, so anybody involved in karting could pitch up a tent, start a racing team, and didn't require checks to be done. For many years he's been working with children and either nobody's asked the question or, if they did check, it didn't come up."

Clan Racing ceased operating after the police investigation begin in December 2017. Fairley separated from his wife and moved to East Lothian.

The team website says "no nonsense leader [Fairley] has an uncanny knack of finding raw talented drivers and honing them into champions", while another entry asks how can he be "older than Methuselah yet have the body of a 12-year-old".

Details of Fairley's conviction are only in the public domain because his Edinburgh victim's criminal injuries compensation claim became subject of a separate legal wrangle.

Child protection campaigner Ms Brown added: "We would like to think the Scottish Government would look at this situation. Something's far wrong so I would say Nicola Sturgeon's team need to look at this and address this problem urgently.

"Parents have a role here as well. We don't want them to be vigilantes but we want them to be vigilant and ask questions. I've got grandchildren. I've got a grandson that loves karting. I would be asking, what's this guy's qualifications? Has he gone through checking?"

In response to questions from STV News, karting's governing body Motorsport UK (MSA) said it could not comment on individual cases.

MSA compliance officer Jennifer Carty said: "We have robust compliant systems and policies that are continually reviewed for best practice.

"Where certain categories of issue arise then we act immediately and consistently with the law and relevant agencies. We take immediate suspension followed by investigation action in all relevant cases that present a risk to children.

"In the case of our regulated sport, should parents or any person have concerns then they should speak with us immediately by contacting our compliance team.

"Safeguarding and safety are paramount to the running of the sport and we will be continuing our efforts to ensure watertight safeguarding practices are adopted across motorsport.

"We have reacted to the wider issues in the sport for example by initiating the licensing of teams, which at the time was the issue in this case not being identified."

Speaking by phone, Fairley said: "I've got nothing to say at all. I'm not answering any questions."