CRIME CAPITAL: Paul Ferris fixed it for the gay burglar who raided police HQ; FETTESGATE.

THE cops were in big trouble.Their HQ at Fettes had been burgled.

Worse, the thief had taken highly sensitive files and documents. How were they going to face the public?

They decided to try to tough it out. Fat chance. The burglar, Derek Donaldson, was seeking advice from someone who was no friend to the cops.

Donaldson was a conman and gay - a bad combination since his crimes got him into jail where he was confronted with would-be gay-bashers.

In Shotts Prison, he was getting a hell of a time before fellow inmate Paul Ferris, former lieutenant of Glasgow Godfather Arthur Thompson, stepped in to stop the bullies.

Now, out of the blue in 1992, Donaldson contacted Ferris. He needed advice about some files.

He told Ferris: 'I just brought some of the stuff, Paul. I think I'm in big trouble.'

Ferris scanned the material file by file. There were intimate details about a range of judges who sat in courts in and around Edinburgh.

It seemed some of these judges were gay and had been followed by cops when they went to gay parties.

Another file, named Operation Ulysses, targeted IRA supporters in Scotland and lawyers were named as having donated funds.

There were surveillance records of known UDA supporters and photographs of them visiting Belfast and being in the company of top UDA men.

Derek Donaldson was sitting on a goldmine or his death certificate - it depended on how he played it.

'How the hell did you get this stuff?' Ferris asked.Donaldson explained he'd had a long-term affair with a high- ranking married cop in Edinburgh.

The cop's wife had found out and he'd broken off with Donaldson.

In a jealous rage, the forlorn lover had decided to break into the police HQ at Fettes to teach him a lesson. But he had stumbled on to high-risk material and now he was in big trouble.

'Copy the lot,' said Ferris. 'Offer it out to the top people in Edinburgh. That's point one.

'Point two is lose the papers. Keep them secure as a bit of insurance but have sod all in your possession.

'Point three is go to the media.

Mention the gay judges thing but f ** k all about the IRA and UDA supporters.

That's too sensitive.

'One way or another, the cops are going to find you.

'You don't want anything nasty going down. The best way is to speak out.'

Donaldson followed Ferris's advice. All the major players in Edinburgh have photocopies of some or all of the files.

They paid well and it was worth every penny in getting certain cops off their backs.

Many have never been to jail since.

CAPTION(S):

CONMAN: Donaldson. Far right, Paul Ferris

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