Police pledge to solve murders of gangland figures including Arthur Thompson Jnr 30 years ago

Arthur Thompson jnr, above, was shot dead outside his home in Provanmill Road, Glasgow on August 17, 1991. He was the oldest son of the city’s then infamous crime godfather Arthur Thompson Snr.

READ MORE: Glasgow crime stories: The murder of Arthur Thompson Jnr and trial of Paul Ferris

On the day of his funeral a month later two men suspected by police of being involved in his killing, Robert Glover, 31, and Joe Hanlon, 23, above, were found dead in a car. Both had also been shot.

READ MORE: Glasgow crime stories: Arthur Thompson

In June the following year 28-year-old former Thompson family enforcer Paul Ferris, then 28, was cleared of young Arthur’s murder after a three month trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

No one has ever been charged or stood trial for the deaths of Hanlon and Glover, both close friends of Ferris.

However Police Scotland say they would be prepared to carry out fresh investigations into all three murders if new evidence came to light.

Chief Inspector Brian Geddes, of Homicide Governance and Review, added:”The murders of Arthur Thompson Jr, Robert Glover and Joseph Hanlon remain unresolved.

“Unresolved murders are cases that are never closed and Police Scotland is fully committed to identifying those people responsible for all such cases.

“Police Scotland works closely with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and meets regularly to review outstanding unresolved murders from across the country.

“Working collaboratively as the Homicide Governance Board, the potential for new investigative opportunities are regularly assessed to maximise the ability to deliver justice for grieving families, irrespective of the passage of time.

“As with any unresolved murder case, we would review any new information provided to police and investigate further if appropriate.”

On the night of his murder Thompson Jnr, then 31, had been released from prison on a weekend parole having been sentenced to 11 years for heroin dealing in 1985.

Young Arthur had enjoyed a meal with his family at the Cafe India restaurant in Glasgow’s Charing Cross. They then returned home for a nightcap.

Around 10pm Arthur left his parents house to walk the short distance to his own home in Provanmill Road, where he lived with his wife and daughter.

He was shot at point blank range by a mystery man who then escaped in a stolen car.

Thompson Jnr was rushed to Glasgow Royal Infirmary but died a short time later.

Both Hanlon and Glover found dead in the well of a Ford Orion car parked in Darleith Street outside the Cottage Bar in Shettleston on September 18.

The double murder was seen as an act of revenge by Arthur Snr, who was said to have paid a hitman £20,000 to kill them.

At the time Ferris was on remand at Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow awaiting trial.

A few days after the double murder, armed police raided Arthur Thompson Snr’s home, looking for evidence but nothing was found.

Eighteen months later Thompson died in his bed from a heart attack at the age of 61.

In 1998 Ferris was convicted at the Old Bailey in London and sentenced to ten years imprisonment - later reduced to seven - after being convicted of gun running and possessing explosives.

While in prison he co-authored his best selling biography The Ferris Conspiracy and has since published four other books.

A film based on his life, The Wee Man, featuring Line of Duty star Martin Compston as Ferris was released in 2013.