Patrick Lindsay (1686–1753) was a British Army officer and Scottish politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1741.
He joined the army and was ensign Sir Robert Rich’s Foot in 1711, serving in Spain during the war of the Spanish succession.
The magistrates sent Lindsay to seek assistance from General Moyle the commander of the troops stationed nearby.
For several real and alleged reasons there was a lack of co-operation between Moyle and Lindsay and their response was inadequate, so that Porteous was lynched by the mob.
He condemned the local clergy, who openly condoned the lynching, and was thereby charged of doing more damage to Edinburgh than all the evidence for the bill.