'Godfather' son condition improves

The shops where Mr Thompson was attacked

The son of a late Glasgow gangster is said to be improving in hospital after he was set upon and stabbed by a gang.

Billy Thompson's condition was criticial after the attack on Sunday but a spokeswoman for the Southern General Hospital said he was now "serious".

Thompson was found lying outside a post office in Royston Road, Provanmill, on Sunday.

The victim, who is 33, is the son of the late Arthur Thompson, who died of a heart attack in 1993.

He was a really serious criminal but at the same time he was a man who commanded an awful lot of respect among criminals and the police as well

Arnott McWhinnie, journalist

He was known as the godfather of the east end of Glasgow, who had links with the notorious Kray twins, but whose family has been touched by tragedy several times.

Billy Thompson, the sole surviving son, survived a murder attempt last year when he was stabbed outside the family home, nicknamed The Ponderosa.

His brother, Arthur junior, was shot dead in the same street in 1991 while on weekend leave from prison. Arthur Thompson's daughter Margaret died from a drugs overdose in 1989.

Arthur Thompson snr: "Feared" man

His mother-in-law died in a car bomb intended to kill him. Two of the suspects in the bombing were later driven off the road by Thompson and died.

Billy Thompson has served prison sentences, the most recent for possessing a harpoon gun.

He was given two-and-a-half years, later reduced on appeal to 18 months.

The Daily Record quotes an "underworld source" as saying: "Billy is a sad reflection of a young man who could not live up to his father's reputation."

The source also told the paper that Thompson had made enemies in the drug business.

Arthur jnr: Shot dead in street

Strathclyde Police are treating the attack on him as attempted murder and are appealing for information.

Veteran reporter Arnott McWhinnie said: "For years, Arthur Thompson had serious links with, for example, the Kray twins in London and it was rumoured that if they needed somebody to go down and do a job for them, Arthur would be the man to do it.

"Likewise, if he had a score to settle in Glasgow, some of the Kray twins' people would come up to Glasgow to get involved.

"He was a really serious criminal but at the same time he was a man who commanded an awful lot of respect among criminals and the police as well."