the paul ferris conspiracy Review by Kevin Williamson 8th 2001   imagine this situation. a book is written by a high profile, former criminal, now serving a seven-year sentence for gunrunning. the book claims that there are clear links between known gangsters in glasgow and officers of strathclyde police force. the book details these links and the ensuing corruption of police officers, their role in drug-dealing, the bribes and the set-ups, as well as how this has developed. names are named. sensational stuff indeed. so what happens next? scenario a: high level and independent investigations are made into these serious accusations. the scottish press reviews the book extensively and sends investigative reporters to speak to all concerned to ascertain the truth. if these revelations are confirmed heads are then seen to roll and the police's power to investigate themselves is abolished and an independent police complaints board is established as a result. scenario b: the tabloids seize on the most salacious aspects of the violence detailed in the book and spread them across their front pages. the accusations of police corruption are rubbished as "pure fantasy" in the media by the very same police force that is accused of being bent. nobody takes the book seriously because a former gangster writes it. there are no reviews of the book anywhere. no prizes for guessing which of the two scenarios has actually happened. (scenario a was just a daft fantasy of mine.)

to date, not a single newspaper or magazine in scotland has had the courage to review the book, the ferris conspiracy, let alone investigate the truth or otherwise of its contents. if this is a democratic country with a so-called free press then something's obviously not quite right here. so what's going on?

paul ferris is no angel. by his own admission he has been involved in criminal activities that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. vicious stabbings, slashings, shootings, robberies, extortion, are all graphically detailed in this book. (i suspect some of the worst excesses have been omitted.) over the years the criminal activities of paul ferris add up to a horrific litany of broken bodies and scars, terror and brutality. or put another way mr ferris is not exactly a contender for the nobel peace prize.

yet reading this account of ferris's life and times, co-written with investigative reporter reg mckay, even accounting for a certain swagger and "sticking it right up them", i couldn't help thinking that if this guy is making all this up about police conspiracies and corruption then he needn't bother returning to a life of crime - he's got a glittering career ahead of him as a writer of fiction. the scripts of taggart seem as straightforward as the teletubbies in comparison to the twists and turns of the elaborate plots and incredible events detailed here.

so who do we believe? the violent gangster in prison? or the police force who protect the streets of glasgow with such public-spirited vigilance? with such public-spirited vigilance that some of their officers are known to have fabricated evidence, threatened and beaten witnesses, and perverted the course of justice to secure wrongful convictions against such innocent men as tc campbell and joe steele (the glasgow two), as well as stuart gair, raymond gilmour, and god knows who else.

it is worth stating clearly here that all three witnesses who testified against stuart gair when he was sentenced to life in 1989 have since retracted their statements and have told scottish television that their statements were only made after being blackmailed and threatened with "outing" (re: their sexuality) during interrogations by strathclyde police officers. gair has subsequently been released on bail after 11 years in prison and is awaiting a judicial review of his case.

it is also worth stating here that the only witness against both tc campbell and joe steele subsequently retracted his statement and has been exposed as a paid liar. it has also come to light that the crown office suppressed important correspondence relating to case. these two innocent men have served 16 years in prison each and have refused to sign parole papers admitting guilt that would have them immediately released. ferris' book names the person behind the murders of the six members of the doyle family and the individual's collusion with officers serving in strathclyde police force. nobody has sued either author yet and the media in scotland remains silent despite the fact that this week the ferris conspiracy has now entered the top ten uk best sellers chart.

the real importance of this compelling book is that ferris explains why and how all of this has happened. i didn't think i would say this but after reading the ferris conspiracy i'm convinced that despite his previous activities paul ferris has done us all a favour by lifting the lid on what is happening in the rotten state of the strathclyde police force. (whether ferris was fitted up on the gunrunning charges he was jailed for, it's hard to say, but taking all things into account it seems more than likely.)

ferris's claims are not outlandish, they ring true because they tie in with existing knowledge of the activities of certain glasgow police officers and their criminal associates, and they should certainly be taken seriously enough to investigate them further.

ferris and mckay have had their say. but will anyone else have the courage to speak out and confront the surreptitious might of strathclyde police force? politicians? the judiciary? the media? or even an honest cop or two? in the event of silence we should read complicity.

postscript: the same time as the book is published, one of the authors, reg mckay, received a phone call - number withheld - from someone claiming to be a senior police inspector in glasgow who told mckay that a confidential internal memo has been circulated around strathclyde police force instructing officers not to buy or read this book. if this is true, it begs the question: is someone at the highest level of strathclyde police force trying to cover something up?

A note by the Author Paul Ferris 7th September 2005

This book was published in the latter part of 2001 by Mainstream and was never reviewed by any of the literati nor the media because it opened up to the public for the first time just how the system and the police had operated within the Strathclyde area for almost forty years.

Everyone had kept quiet hoping that it would go away and to become ridiculed in the press so that no one would buy it.

There was even a police memo floating around all police stations in Glasgow stating 'Do not buy or read this book.'
Was this for the benefit of the young fresh new recruits that had joined the force so that even they were being ordered not to read or buy this book in the event that it would wise them up to what had gone on before they became police officers themselves?

In any event I am sure that most people in Scotland have read it and are more than capable of making their own minds up about the contents of the book and what it says about our judicial system.

The Ferris Conspiracy is still being bought four years after publication and was even at # 9 in Mainstreams best selling list only a few months ago and is now the subject of interest from film makers who want to bring it on to the big screen.

At the same time people are asking why?

I met up with Bobby Carlyle through Paul Kerr to discuss if he would be interested in the lead role in the movie that BOF (Box Office Films) were interested in taking on.

During our meeting Bobby Carlyle made it clear if the script was right he would do it but not a Gangster movie which was what I wanted to hear.

The proposed movie was more about Glasgow not me although I was the central character the movie was and is much bigger than me.

Paul Kerr pulled the project with BOF as they were heading for a gangster epic the exact opposite of what we were trying to avoid.

I did not want to glamorise violence in any way but to tell it how it was I also did not want to make a movie on police corruption as the project is also bigger than that we want to keep things REAL.

The media want to tell you not to watch it when it is made as they had done so with the book, here is some of what the papers had to say on the matter:

Headlines
Guy to save Ferris Film ( The Scottish Sun Friday 19th of August 2005)
Lock Stock and Bar L

Liam 'mad for gangster film role' ( The Manchester Evening News August 2005)
OASIS bad boy Liam Gallagher is "mad for" a part as a villain in a new gangster film.
The Oasis frontman, from Burnage, would play real-life Mr Big and United fan Paul Massey, from Salford.
Liam and his brother Noel, who also support Celtic, watched the Glasgow side play Hearts at Tynecastle in Edinburgh before their concert.
Between the two events, the brothers are said to have met Ferris and members of the production team of the £14m film, which has the working title of The Apprentice.

London-based firm BMG, owned by Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell, is one of the backers of the new film.

Liam Gallagher To Make Movie Acting Debut?

Carlyle on target for gangster roles again (The Scotsman Sunday 6th of Feb 2005)
For Carlyle, it would be his second new brush with the law on screen - he is being lined up to play Glasgow gangster Paul Ferris in a new £12m movie. Carlyle recently met the Glasgow criminal for lunch at an exclusive hotel to plan their blockbuster film. He recently broke cover to lunch at the exclusive One Devonshire Gardens - near his new £1.9m home in Glasgow's West End - with Ferris, 40.

BOBBY'S BEAT (The Sunday Herald 21st August 2005
From his iconic portrayal as Begbie in Trainspotting to his latest role as an IRA man adapting to peace in The Mighty Celt, Robert Carlyle is renowned for playing hard men. Now 44, with two young children, he talks to Alastair McKay about reconciliation, real-life heroes and meeting with Glasgow gangster Paul Ferris