Ex-gangland enforcer turned author Paul Ferris dies aged 62

Paul Ferris, one of Scotland’s most notorious gangland figures, has died at the age of 62 following a short illness.

Ferris was admitted to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth on Sunday and died in hospital on Tuesday.

Ferris became one of the country’s most feared men during his time under the wing of “Glasgow Godfather” Arthur Thompson in the 1970s. Years later, he would branch out on his own and find himself in a heated rivalry with his former mentor.

The pair fell out in the 1980s, with Ferris claiming the Thompsons – Arthur and his son, Arthur Jnr – set him up over a drugs bust in Rothesay.

Then in 1991, 31-year-old Thompson Junior – known as Fat Boy – was shot and killed outside his father’s home in Glasgow’s Provanmill. Ferris associates 31-year-old Bobby Glover and 23-year-old Joe “Bananas” Hanlon were shot dead shortly after. Their bodies were found dumped inside a car on the day of Fat Boy’s funeral.

Ferris was charged over Fat Boy’s murder and was found not guilty of the killing following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow in 1992, walking free from court in what would become his most infamous image.

Over 300 witnesses were called to give evidence at the trial which lasted 54 days and cost £4 million, at the time the longest and most expensive trial in Scottish legal history.

Officers labelled Ferris “Houdini” after he walked free from Fat Boy’s murder, another shooting years earlier, and various other charges over his criminal career.

But in the late 90s, the law finally caught up to Ferris. He was caught ferrying guns to Glasgow as part of a groundbreaking undercover probe.

Dubbed Operation Abonar, officers from MI5, Strathclyde Police and Scotland Yard, caught him smuggling three MAC-10 submachine guns, Uzi magazines, silencers and dozens of blue-tipped and copper-jacketed 9mm ammunition to Glasgow – in an Opal Fruits box.

Law enforcement believe he planned to use the deadly weapons to wreak havoc on the streets of Glasgow and, in 1998, he was jailed for ten years at the Old Bailey in London of conspiring to deal firearms and explosives.

Ferris appealed and the sentence was reduced to seven years. He served his time in London’s notorious Belmarsh Prison, swearing then to turn his life around and “go straight” following his release.

While serving his sentence, he wrote The Ferris Conspiracy, an account of his life and criminal conviction. The book was later adapted into the 2013 film The Wee Man, starring Line of Duty actor Martin Compston.

The Bafta award-winning film charted Ferris’s childhood in Glasgow’s Blackhill area during the 1980s and 1990s and his rise as an enforcer for one of the city’s most feared crime figures.

Following his release from prison in January 2002, Ferris insisted he had left his criminal past behind and become a legitimate businessman.

While in prison, Ferris co-authored his biography The Ferris Conspiracy with the late author and journalist Reg McKay, which sold 20,000 copies.

Over the following years, he published a series of books reflecting on his life, criminal career and experiences within Glasgow’s gangland world, including another with McKay.

Photographer Brian Anderson developed a friendship with Ferris after first being assigned to document his release from prison in 2002.

“As a photojournalist, I documented him from 2002 up to the present day, in documentaries, magazines, newspaper stories, features,” he told STV News.

“I got on with him really well, I found him really kind, articulate, funny.”

Mr Anderson wasn’t intimidated by Ferris, having worked covering crime throughout his career.

“I knew him as a best-selling author who declared to the world that he was going straight – nobody believed him,” he said.

“But sure enough, 25 years later, books, films, documentaries and another film.”

In the last few months, Ferris had met with actor Paul Brannigan and production companies to discuss the development of another movie understood to be a sequel to 2013’s The Wee Man.

Mr Anderson said he would remember Ferris for his loyalty and for his “typical Glaswegian” humour and kindness.

His brother, Billy Ferris, died in HMP Low Moss last year at the age of 75.