Donald Findlay QC reflects on his most memorable case

Donald Findlay QC

Mr Ferris was a teenager when he became an enforcer for Arthur Thompson, one of Glasgow’s most notorious crime bosses.

He was acquitted of killing Mr Thompson’s son, who was shot dead in 1991 outside the family home. The trial cost £4 million and lasted 54 days. It was the longest and most expensive trial in Scottish legal history at the time.

Speaking to Edith Forrest in a Hey Legal interview, he said: “The trial of Paul Ferris for the murder of Arthur Thompson Jr … had virtually all the great characters of Glasgow in that trial one way or another.

“Young Arthur was dead, his father was a witness, Ferris was regarded by the police as the heir apparent to Arthur Thompson Sr.

“We had supergrasses, it just had everything that was going for it.

“I forget how many charges that there were but of course Ferris walked on each and every one of them.”

He said of Mr Ferris: “He was in the witness box for a week and he was terrific in the witness box. It went on for three months and at the time it was the longest-running single accused murder trial and may still be.

“It was a terrific case because of all these legendary characters. So many of the witnesses were also people of legend at the time in and around the Glasgow underworld. It could never happen again, the world has changed so much since then.”