Notorious British ex-gangland enforcer Paul Ferris died this week aged 62. The former criminal, who wrote books about his underworld experiences with one being transformed into a Bafta award-winning film starring Line of Duty actor Martin Compston as Ferris, died in Glasgow on Tuesday.
In 1992 he was acquitted at the High Court in Glasgow of the murder of Arthur Thompson jnr – son of crime boss Arthur Thomspon snr – in what was then the longest trial in Scottish criminal history. He was later found guilty of conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons, dealing in firearms, and possessing explosives at London’s Old Bailey in 1998.
The Daily Record’s crime reporter Norman Silvester spent decades following his life and crimes. Here’s what he had to say following Ferris’ death…
The smartly dressed good looking 28-year-old stood on the front steps with both arms raised to the acclaim of the waiting crowd. Photographers pushed forward to get his picture that sunny Friday afternoon and reporters were eager to hear what he had to say. Champagne was popped and a few minutes later the same smiling young man was driven away at high speed by jubilant friends.
However this wasn’t a film star, boy band member or millionaire footballer celebrating their latest success. A rising star of the Glasgow underworld Paul Ferris had just been cleared of murdering convicted drug dealer Arthur Thompson Jnr in the longest and most costly trial in Scottish legal history.
I was one of the a number of reporters who had covered the case for the last three months at the High Court in Glasgow. I can even be seen standing behind Ferris outside the court as he took the acclaim of the crowd.
For many members of the public he was someone they were learning about for the first time but I already knew him as a rising star of the Glasgow criminal underworld. His alleged victim was the son of Glasgow’s infamous crime godfather Arthur Thompson Snr.
A former friend and ally of the Thompsons, Ferris was said to be closer to the father than even his own son. At the tender age of 19 he had become the crime boss’s feared enforcer, collecting debts on his behalf.
But that was all in the past for Ferris as he savoured his dramatic acquittal on June 12, 1992. The subsequent murder trial which began the following March lasted 56 days and cost an estimated £4million.
Ferris was also cleared of attempting to murder Arthur Thompson Snr by repeatedly driving a car at him and threatening to murder another man William Gillen by shooting him in the leg. Charges of illegal possession of a firearm and supplying heroin, cocaine and ecstasy were also thrown out by the jury. After some brief words with reporters was taken away by friends in a car no doubt to continue the celebrations.
Ferris seemed to disappear under the radar following his acquittal but remerged four years later after his arrest in a dramatic police raid in Mayfair, London. He was subsequently convicted at the Old Bailey in London in 1998 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment – later reduced to seven – after being convicted of gun running and possessing explosives.
While in prison he co-authored his best selling biography The Ferris Conspiracy with Reg McKay and has since published four other books. A film based on his life, The Wee Man, featuring Line of Duty star Martin Compston as Ferris was released in 2013.
The last interview he gave was in July this year when he told me about his plans for a second and third follow up to The Wee Man and also about his efforts to go straight. The Wee Man told the story of Ferris growing up in the tough Blackhill area of Glasgow in the 70’s and 80’s and how he came to work as an enforcer for Arthur Thompson snr.
The sequel – titled Ferris – was to cover the period from 1992-2002 when he moved down south and was arrested in London on gun running charges and jailed at the Old Bailey. The third movie – called Going Straight – plans to document the time he was released from prison to the present day and to tell of his bid become a become a legitimate businessman and battles with the authorities to prove he had mended his ways.
Ferris admitted that any money he made from the movies will be used to settle a long running five figure tax debt. He said: “At the end of the films, the question will be, ‘Was it all worth it?’
“I am not doing any of this to be the big gangster – I am doing it to tell my life story. It’s about how somebody living that life might not see where they are going. They end up changing paths. You go to prison to spend your time and take your punishment. Then you’re supposed to come out and rehabilitate. That journey for me was the hardest one I’ve ever done.”
When asked about the moment he decided to go straight, Ferris said that it was while he was in prison in London following his arrest for gun running that he had his “eureka” moment. It came after he learned that MI5 had carried out a lengthy photographic surveillance on him.
Ferris continued: “You can’t fight the government. It’s impossible. It doesn’t matter what sort of criminality you are involved in. If the Government and MI5 are on to you then you are on their radar for the rest of your life.”
Ferris added that the MI5 surveillance snaps were particularly revealing, when he realised for the first time he had a bald patch. Ferris also said he was aware of the recent gang wars that have been sweeping Scotland, related to the long running feud between the Lyons and Daniel crime families.
He added: “I know both the Lyons and Daniel families and they know my position – it’s always been neutrality. I don’t get involved. I am doing what I am doing. I’m writing books. I’m earning a living and I am not involved in that world.”
Ferris has five children and said none of them were involved in crime. He claimed he had never been tempted to go back to his old life, even if he received an offer that ‘he couldn’t refuse.’
He was also aware that some people might not believe he has gone completely straight given his past reputation. Ferris added: “I have either been an absolute criminal genius for the last 25 years or I have done nothing wrong. Take your pick.”