{"id":886703,"date":"2026-04-11T11:09:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T11:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/886703\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T11:09:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T11:09:25","slug":"brutal-murder-of-barman-tam-cameron-and-the-19-year-search-for-his-killer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/886703\/","title":{"rendered":"Brutal murder of barman Tam Cameron and the 19-year search for his killer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gangland Unsolved: In the third of a new series looking at some of Scotland’s most baffling unsolved gangland murders, we examine the apparently motiveless fatal shooting of a 49 year old barman outside the pub where he worked.\"dailyrecord\"<\/p>\n

12:00, 11 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

It was late June and a number of regulars were enjoying an early evening drink in the Auchinairn Tavern in Bishopbriggs<\/a> on the outskirts of Glasgow.<\/p>\n

Around 7pm, a member of the bar staff, 49 year old Tam Cameron<\/a> was told there were two men in the car park outside waiting to see him.<\/p>\n

What happened next resulted in a murder that shocked Scotland with its almost casual brutality.<\/p>\n

Shortly after greeting the two men one of them pulled out a gun and shot Tam, who was married with two daughters, through the chest.<\/p>\n

He rushed to the nearby nearby Stobhill Hospital<\/a> in Glasgow – after being found by horrified staff and customers – but was dead on arrival.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: Mark Irvine)<\/p>\n

In the days following the brutal murder in 2007, detectives revealed that Tam was the intended victim – though they hadn’t established a motive.<\/p>\n

However a suspect quickly emerged who police then discovered had fled Scotland and was now in Spain.<\/p>\n

He was Derek “Deco” Ferguson, a 43 year old man from the Possilpark<\/a> area of Glasgow. A number of addresses there were searched in the city but there was no sign of the man.<\/p>\n

At that stage his name was not released to the public or media but forces across Europe, particularly Spain, were given his description and told to look out for him.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: NCA)<\/p>\n

A month later a second murder was discovered which appeared to have links to the fatal shooting of Tam Cameron.<\/p>\n

The partially decomposed body of Billy Bates<\/a>, 43, was found in an oil drum on July 28 by council workers near the Erskine Bridge<\/a> in West Dunbartonshire.<\/p>\n

He had gone missing missing shortly after Thomas had been murdered.<\/p>\n

Bates had also been wanted for questioning in connection with the barman’s murder, along with Ferguson.<\/p>\n

Detectives had been trying to track him down since Tam Cameron was murdered.<\/p>\n

It’s understood he had confided in pals that he wanted to contact them and provide a statement.<\/p>\n

Police believe his body was in the water for up to two weeks and had been the victim of a “sustained attack” and suffered “horrific injuries”.<\/p>\n

Bates had not been seen for several weeks before the discovery of his body.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: Mark Irvine)<\/p>\n

At this stage police were still trying to establish a motive for Tam Cameron’s murder.<\/p>\n

It was rumoured that he owed money but nothing could excuse the brutality of the murder.<\/p>\n

In the next four years the search for prime suspect Ferguson spread across Europe and further afield.<\/p>\n

In 2011 police publicly named Ferguson for the first time and a photograph and description was issued<\/p>\n

They revealed he used a number of aliases, spoke with a false Irish accent and went by the nickname Deco<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They also believed he was travelling between Ireland, Portugal, Holland, Turkey and Spain under a false name and was being given financial support – though from whom was not clear.<\/p>\n

Officers even travelled to Madrid to make a joint appeal for information with the Spanish authorities.<\/p>\n

It was was part of wider crackdown on British criminal suspects living abroad.<\/p>\n

Though others were arrested as a result of the investigations, Ferguson could not be found.<\/p>\n

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In 2017 it was revealed that Ferguson may have made a brief secret return to Scotland in 2015 possibly on a fake passport.<\/p>\n

By now a special team had been set up at the Scottish Crime Campus<\/a> in Gartcosh, Lanarkshire, to find the fugitive.<\/p>\n

At the time the man leading the investigation DCI Mark Bell appealed in our sister paper the Sunday Mail <\/a>for Ferguson to hand himself in adding: “It must be a difficult and stressful existence looking over your shoulder all the time.”<\/p>\n

In 2021, on the 14th anniversary of Tam Cameron’s murder, a \u00a35000 reward was issued by Crimestoppers<\/a>, which was increased to \u00a310,000 the following year.<\/p>\n

Police also released computer-generated images of what Deco may look like now.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: Daily Record)<\/p>\n

Over the years the hunt for Ferguson has also involved police forces across Europe, Interpol and the National Crime Agency<\/a> in London.<\/p>\n

Ferguson’s name has appeared on numerous websites of high-profile ‘most wanted’ criminals.<\/p>\n

While Police Scotland have been successful in bringing other fugitives to justice in recent years, Ferguson still eludes them.<\/p>\n

Graeme Pearson former Director General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency<\/a> told the Daily Record: “The fact that the suspect has been on the run for so long is in itself unusual.<\/p>\n

“It is indicative of someone who has the connections and the financial support to maintain the anonymity<\/p>\n

“You need help to do that, you cannot do it on your own.<\/p>\n

“It’s likely that if he is still alive he has created a whole new life for himself.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

(Image: DAILY RECORD)<\/p>\n

Graeme believes that the alleged killer took the gun to the Auchinairn Tavern meaning to use it.<\/p>\n

He added:”If you are going to see a barman in the car park of the pub where the man works perhaps to settle a dispute the you are not going to pull out a gun just to frighten him.<\/p>\n

“Something of significance has happened before the murder.<\/p>\n

“If he is still alive who is supporting him and how has he managed to stay anonymous for so long and whose identity has he taken on.<\/p>\n

“He may have a new identity but he must have left a footprint somewhere.”<\/p>\n

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The murders of Thomas Cameron and William Bates remain unresolved.<\/p>\n

“Unresolved murders are cases that are never closed and Police Scotland is fully committed to identifying those people responsible for all such cases.<\/p>\n

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

“Working collaboratively, the potential for new investigative opportunities is regularly assessed to maximise the ability to deliver justice for grieving families, irrespective of the passage of time.<\/p>\n

“As with any unresolved murder case, we would review any new information provided to police and investigate further if appropriate.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gangland Unsolved: In the third of a new series looking at some of Scotland’s most baffling unsolved gangland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":886704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7826],"tags":[27813,748,119161,918,4884,530,11653,712,16,15,27976],"class_list":["post-886703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-glasgow","tag-bishopbriggs","tag-britain","tag-erskine","tag-glasgow","tag-great-britain","tag-police-scotland","tag-premium","tag-scotland","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-west-dunbartonshire"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116385767328861516","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/886704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}