This interview formed part of an article by journalists Graham MacLean and Myra Philp which appeared on 29^th September 1995 under the title "Burney gets his freedom and a new job", following Eric's successful appeal against sentence.

"Tonight will be the first night since I was 13 that I will have been able to sleep peacefully.

"I was 13 when I was sexually abused. Now for the first time in my life I am coming to terms with that."

... "There were a lot of stories about me getting special treatment [i.e. in prison] but they were all lies.

"I spent 22 hours a day locked in a tiny cell on my own with no company, simply because of my fame as Wee Burney.

"I didn't get any privileges, in fact I got worse treatment than most prisoners."

... "When I was abused I had pictures taken of me naked, and they took pictures of me naked at Barlinnie. It just brought it all back to me. It was horrific.

"When I got into my room someone had been sick on the mattress and hadn't bothered to clean it up. So I slept in someone else's vomit.

"The worst thing was the loneliness and being away from people I love.

"Seeing my mum and dad for only half an hour in those 15 days was difficult for them and for me.

"It was all pretty horrible for my family. None of them had ever been in a prison."

... "I read a lot of books to while away the time. I read Spike Milligan's The Loony. It made me laugh, but only once - it was the only time I laughed in that place."