Paul Ferris, cleared of murdering Arthur Thompson Junior in 1992, relocated to Manchester, where he stayed with Glasgow drugs lord Rab Carruthers and formed a lasting friendship with Manchester crime figure Paul Massey.
Carruthers, believed to have controlled heroin and cocaine supplies into Scotland in the early 1990s from a base in northwest England, introduced Ferris to Massey and other major UK criminals.
Fallout and Friendship
Police intelligence from the time reported that Carruthers attacked Ferris with a machete after a falling-out, but Ferris's friendship with Massey endured for life. Ferris was jailed at the Old Bailey in 1998, with Massey imprisoned around the same time for a nightclub stabbing. After release, both attempted to go straight, and Ferris regularly visited Manchester to see Massey.
In 2005, Ferris's biographer, Reg McKay, confirmed that Oasis singer Liam Gallagher was touted to play Massey in a film about Ferris's life, saying Gallagher had the "menace and presence" for the role.
Massey's Assassination
When Massey was assassinated in 2015, Ferris said he had been "betrayed" and called the killer a "coward." He said: "Paul had stepped in to mediate, to try to speak sense to them. But this coward has stabbed Paul in the back. People who know what happened are sickened by it."
Ferris added: "Some people want to escalate things, others want more balance. Paul had a lot of friends, locally, nationally and across Europe. There is a lot of disgust at what happened and there is now an international manhunt to find those responsible. The situation is that friends of Paul are prepared to engage and look for the individuals responsible for it and deal with it accordingly. This is done through loyalty and friendship."
Hundreds lined the streets as Massey's funeral cortege, drawn by four white horses draped in Manchester United flags, passed through Salford. Ferris attended among scores of high-profile criminals, and a wreath was sent by Britain's most notorious prisoner, Charles Bronson.
Ferris's Funeral
Massey's family returned the favour at Ferris's funeral, joining over 100 mourners including ex-UDA boss Johnny 'Mad Dog' Adair, former world champion boxer Alex Arthur, and actor Paul Brannigan. A piper led the cortege, floral arrangements spelled "legend" and "dad," and dozens of flash cars, including Mercedes and BMWs, lined the roads outside the crematorium.
