Eleanor StonePaul Ferris, once described as the most dangerous man in Scotland, died on 7 October 2026 at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, aged 62. His death, after a short illness, has triggered a wave of media coverage about his life — the 1992 acquittal for the murder of Arthur Thompson Jr in what was then Scotland's longest criminal trial, the 1998 firearms and explosives conviction, the years in HM Prison Shotts, and the subsequent attempts to build a legitimate life through books, speaking engagements, and business ventures. A new film about his post-prison years was already in development at the time of his death.
But behind the headlines, Ferris's story raises a practical legal question that thousands of people across the UK face right now: when you have a criminal past, how much of it are you legally required to carry — and for how long?
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act: What It Actually Says
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is the cornerstone of UK law on criminal records. Its central principle is straightforward: after a defined "rehabilitation period," a conviction becomes spent. Once spent, the offender is treated in law as if the offence never happened — for most purposes.
Following reforms introduced in October 2023, rehabilitation periods were significantly reduced. Under the current rules:
- A custodial sentence of up to 12 months becomes spent 2 years after the end of the sentence.
- A custodial sentence of more than 12 months but under 4 years becomes spent 4 years after the end of the sentence.
- A community order becomes spent 12 months after it ends.
- A fine becomes spent 12 months after the conviction date.
This means someone released from an 18-month sentence in 2020 had their conviction become spent by 2024. From that moment, they can legally answer "no" to most employer questions about criminal convictions.
Paul Ferris's own situation was more complex. His 1998 sentence — for firearms trafficking and possessing explosives — was well above four years, and custodial sentences of that length never become spent under the Act. But for the majority of people in the UK with criminal records, the law does offer a genuine pathway to a clean slate. The question is whether that pathway is actually clear to walk.
Why Former Offenders Still Face Discrimination
The Act's protections only function if both employers and employees understand them. In practice, the system breaks down in two predictable ways.
Employers request the wrong level of check. There are three DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check tiers. A basic check shows only unspent convictions. A standard check shows both spent and unspent convictions for a defined list of roles. An enhanced check, used for positions working with children or vulnerable adults, includes additional police intelligence. A warehouse supervisor role, a customer service position, or a construction site manager role — the kinds of jobs many former offenders seek — typically requires only a basic check. Yet many employers default to standard checks without verifying whether that level is legally permitted for the role in question.
Former offenders don't challenge unlawful decisions. When a job offer is withdrawn following a DBS check, many applicants assume the employer was entitled to do what they did. According to analysis published by the Prison Reform Trust in 2025, approximately one in three people with a spent conviction in England and Wales reported having that conviction disclosed to a prospective employer who had no legal basis to request a standard or enhanced check. Most of those individuals accepted the outcome without challenge.
That acceptance is understandable. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act has no dedicated enforcement body. Unlike race or disability discrimination, which is policed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the burden of enforcement falls entirely on the individual. Without legal guidance, most people simply do not know where to start.
A Case That Shows What the Numbers Look Like
Consider Jamie, 38, from Glasgow. In 2015, Jamie received a 20-month custodial sentence for assault. He was released in 2017. Under the reformed ROA, his conviction became spent in 2021 — four years after the end of the sentence. He had been working consistently since his release and had no further convictions.
In August 2026, Jamie applied for a warehouse supervisor role at a logistics firm in Motherwell, advertised at £28,000 per year. The company ran a standard DBS check. The result showed his 2015 conviction — which, as a spent conviction for a standard non-exempt role, should not have appeared on the check at all. Jamie was rejected. The rejection letter cited "concerns arising from the background check."
If Jamie does nothing: he loses a job paying £28,000 per year, the employer faces no consequence, and the unlawful disclosure goes unchallenged. The same employer is likely to repeat the error with future candidates.
If Jamie consults a solicitor within three months of the rejection:
The solicitor identifies that warehouse supervisor is not a role listed in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 — and therefore does not qualify for a standard DBS check. The employer had no legal basis to request it. A formal complaint to the DBS triggers an investigation into the check's lawfulness. In parallel, an Employment Tribunal claim is brought. Comparable cases — where an employer has run an impermissible check and used the resulting disclosure as grounds for refusal — have resulted in awards ranging from £8,000 to £22,000, depending on the financial loss suffered and the degree of procedural failure.
The three-month window is not a technicality. Employment Tribunal claims must be submitted within three months of the act being complained of, and ACAS early conciliation must be initiated first — a process that itself takes several weeks. Waiting too long removes the legal remedy entirely, regardless of how clear-cut the violation was.
What a Solicitor Can Do That a Generic Guide Cannot
The ROA is a short piece of legislation, and plenty of information about spent convictions is publicly available online. But knowing the general rule is not the same as applying it to a specific situation.
A solicitor with experience in criminal records law can:
- Confirm precisely when a specific conviction became spent, taking into account any licence conditions or recall periods that pause the rehabilitation clock
- Verify whether the DBS check tier the employer used was lawful for the specific role description in the job advertisement
- Review whether the employer complied with the DBS Code of Practice — which requires every employer using DBS checks to have a written policy on employing people with criminal records, and to assess each disclosure individually rather than applying blanket exclusions
- Advise on the limitation periods for both DBS complaints and Employment Tribunal proceedings
- Draft correspondence that triggers ACAS early conciliation, often resulting in a settlement before any formal claim is lodged
As explored in a previous analysis of criminal conviction rights and career rehabilitation in UK law, the protections available under English and Scottish law depend heavily on how clearly they are understood and how promptly they are exercised. The Act's rights are real — but passive.
The Wider Picture Paul Ferris's Death Leaves
Ferris repeatedly maintained after his release that he had gone straight. Whether or not one accepts that account, his story illustrates the ceiling that the criminal justice system imposes on rehabilitation. For those with never-spent sentences — typically over four years — the legal right to a clean slate simply does not exist. Their past follows them in every DBS check, every insurance application, every tenancy vetting process, for life.
For the majority of former offenders in the UK, however, the ceiling is lower and the legal tools are real. The 2023 ROA reforms were explicitly designed to reduce the time people spend carrying convictions that the law itself recognises as no longer relevant. The question is whether those reforms translate into practical change — or whether lack of awareness and unenforced rights mean little on the ground.
Paul Ferris built a second career telling his own story. For most people with a criminal record, the goal is simpler: a fair shot at a job, a flat, and a fresh start. Understanding what the law entitles you to — and when to call a solicitor to defend it — is the first step.
What to Do If You Think Your Rights Have Been Violated
If you have a criminal record and believe an employer has acted unlawfully, the steps are as follows:
- Request written confirmation of the DBS check type conducted and the employer's stated reason for their decision.
- Check whether your conviction is spent using the ROA rehabilitation period rules — the charity Unlock maintains a free public tool at unlock.org.uk.
- Act within three months of the date you were rejected or notified of the check result.
- Consult a solicitor who specialises in employment law or criminal records law before the limitation period expires.
A one-hour consultation will typically establish whether you have a viable claim. Given that successful Employment Tribunal awards in ROA cases regularly reach five figures, the cost of that advice is rarely out of proportion to what is at stake.
This article provides general legal information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If your situation involves a criminal record and employment or another legal matter, you should seek advice from a qualified solicitor.
