The family of crime godfather Arthur Thompson snr have been celebrating the death of Paul Ferris – 34 years after he was cleared of killing the crime kingpin’s son.
One Thompson clan member posted a picture of a bottle of champagne just hours after news broke that Ferris had died – with the caption: “It would be rude not to.” Another wrote on social media: “I think we are going to need another Magnum bottle to celebrate properly after 34 years.”
Ferris cleared in 1992 trial
Ferris died in Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital on Tuesday at the age of 62 following a short illness. In 1992, he was unanimously found not guilty at the High Court in Glasgow of the murder of 31-year-old Arthur “Fatboy” Thompson jnr in what was then the longest running trial in Scottish criminal history.
The victim was the son of Glasgow crime boss Arthur Thompson, for whom Ferris previously worked as an enforcer and debt collector. Messages posted on social media in the aftermath of Ferris’s death appear to show the Thompsons celebrating – with the family convinced he was involved in the murder of Arthur jnr.
Social media reactions
One post by Thompson jnr’s younger sister Tracey, 61, showed a smiley face emoji and a photograph of a glass of champagne alongside a bottle of fizz. She also posted a similar picture with the caption: “It would be rude not to.” In response, one female Thompson family member said simply: “Enjoy.” A third post from a friend said: “Raise a bottle for the family.”
Another female Thompson clan member, in a clear reference to Arthur jnr’s murder, said: “I think we are going to need another Magnum bottle to celebrate properly after 34 years, even Walter Mitty couldn’t dream up a wait like this.”
Family source speaks out
A family source told the Record: “The Thompsons have never spoken publicly about young Arthur’s murder or the fact that Paul Ferris was found not guilty. Ferris’s sudden death now appears to have become a cause for celebration, 34 years after he walked free from the High Court. It seems to be a case of the Godfather’s revenge.”
Tracey Thompson is one of the few surviving members of the family. Arthur snr died in 1993 at the age of 63 following a heart attack at the family home in Provanmill, Glasgow. Mum Rita died in 2006 at the age of 72. Tracey’s other brother Billy, who had a history of drug problems, died in 2017 at the age of 50. Their sister Margaret died, aged 28, in 1989 from a suspected drugs overdose. The family members are all believed to be buried in a lair at Riddrie Park Cemetery in Glasgow.
Background to the murder
On the day of Thompson jnr’s funeral in September 1991, two of the three men suspected of the murder, Joe Hanlon, 23, and Bobby Glover, 31, were found dead in Hanlon’s Ford Orion outside the Cottage Bar in Shettleston, Glasgow. Both had been shot. The third suspect, Ferris, had already been charged with Thompson jnr’s murder and was on remand in Glasgow’s Barlinnie prison. All three men were close friends and associates and used the Cottage Bar as a meeting place.
The double murder was seen as revenge by Thompson snr for the murder of his son, who was serving an 11-year jail term for heroin dealing. Thompson jnr had been released from Noranside prison in Angus on a weekend parole as part of a training for freedom programme. He was shot and fatally wounded on the Saturday night after leaving his parents’ house to walk the short distance to his own home where he lived with his wife and daughter.
For more than 30 years, his father ruled Glasgow’s criminal underworld with an iron fist through his interests in extortion, money lending, illegal casinos, robbery and drugs. One of his main sources of income was providing “protection” to pubs. He is known to have blown up a pub and social club after one owner refused to comply. At one time he had at least 20 pubs in Glasgow paying him £4000 each week.
One retired publican said: “To stop trouble all the landlord or bar manager in one of those pubs needed to say was, ‘This is Arthur Thompson’s place’.”
Thompson snr was also involved in legitimate enterprises such as pubs, demolition, corner shops, garages and carpet showrooms to keep his assets hidden. He became a close ally in the early 60s of notorious London gangsters the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie. It was also rumoured that Thompson was involved in the 1963 Great Train robbery when £2.6million (worth about £30million now) was stolen from the Glasgow to London mail train. During his trips to London he’d become friends with one of the ringleaders, Buster Edwards, who later attended Thompson jnr’s funeral.
Before his death, Thompson snr lived with his family in a garishly converted row of council houses nicknamed The Ponderosa, from the 60s cowboy TV series Bonanza. It was rumoured to be fitted with secret passages, hiding spots and its own tunnel.
Ferris's later life and death
Thompson snr also gave evidence in Ferris’s murder trial at the High Court in Glasgow and denied he was the city’s crime godfather. At the same trial, Ferris was also cleared on charges of attempted murder and drug trafficking. Six years later, Ferris stood trial at the Old Bailey in London, where he was convicted of conspiracy to sell or transfer prohibited weapons, deal in firearms and possess explosives.
He was sentenced to 10 years in prison – later reduced to seven. While in prison he brought out his first book, the Ferris Conspiracy. It was turned into a Bafta-winning movie starring Line of Duty star Martin Compston as Ferris. Ferris always claimed he went straight after his release from prison in 2001 and became a legitimate businessman with interests in a security firm and a construction company.
He also brought out five books documenting his previous criminal life and had been planning a sequel to the Wee Man and also a third film. In his last interview, with the Daily Record in July, the father of five talked about people’s doubts that he had gone straight saying: “I have either been an absolute criminal genius for the last 25 years or I have done nothing wrong. Take your pick.”
