Paul Ferris (Scottish writer)

Ferris was charged with his murder and subsequently found not guilty after what was the longest criminal trial in Scottish history at that time.

[2] Ferris, who iscousin of William Buffe Mccue was the youngest of six children, with one older brother Billy and four sisters Carol, Cath, Janet and Maureen.

Ferris was bullied for several years by members of a local criminal family, the Welshes, which is thought to have resulted in him developing the skin disorder psoriasis.

[5] Ferris began his life of crime as a teenager with a series of revenge knife attacks on the Welsh brothers, and was arrested aged 17 for assault and robbery and sent to Longriggend Remand Centre.

[3] Upon his release he continued to take his revenge on the Welsh brothers, which brought him to the attention of Glasgow underworld figure Arthur Thompson, known as "The Godfather".

[9] Now aged 21, Ferris immediately returned to his work as an enforcer for Thompson, and was soon arrested again and charged with possession of offensive weapons after a pickaxe handle and knives were found in his car.

[11] Within a day of arriving there, he was arrested by armed police and charged with various offences including attempted murder and possession of heroin with intent to supply, and was remanded to HM Prison Barlinnie.

[16] On the day of Thompson Jr's funeral the cortege passed a car containing the bodies of two friends of Ferris, Robert Glover and Joe "Bananas" Hanlon, who were also suspected of involvement in his death, and had been killed by gunshots to the head.

[17][22] In 1993 his brother Billy escaped from a prison escort after being allowed temporary release to visit his sick father, and was one of the six most wanted men in Britain until being captured in Blackpool.

Later that year, Ferris accused the police of having a vendetta against his family after Billy was refused permission to attend the funeral of their father.

[21] That May he was sent back to prison for breaching the conditions of his parole after being involved in a knife fight with Tam McGraw, and an alleged connection with a £900,000 shipment of cannabis (later proven to be fictionalised by newspapers and police).

[31] In January 2004 Frontline Security were criticised when it was reported the company were guarding the Rosepark nursing home, where 14 pensioners had died in a fire.

[35][36] A film based on his life, The Wee Man, starring Martin Compston as Ferris and John Hannah as Tam McGraw, was released in 2013.