Paul Massey, dubbed “Salford’s Mr Big” by a local councillor for his role in a riot in the early-90s (Massey always denied he was there), was shot dead outside his home in Salford, Greater Manchester last night. Police responded to reports of gunfire at around 7:30PM on Sunday, and eyewitnesses have claimed a lone gunman was responsible for Massey’s death.

Massey was a notorious figure in Manchester, once brushing off allegations that he was a gangster with the words: “A gangster is a person who goes out letting guns off unnecessary, shooting people unnecessary and basically getting involved in unnecessary crime.”

In 1999, Massey was sentenced to 14 years in prison after stabbing a man in a nightclub. In 2011, after his release, he was arrested on suspicion of money laundering – a charge he denied at the time, then again this March as the investigation continued. In 2012, telling…