A murder inquiry has been launched after a man related to one of the most notorious criminal families in Glasgow was stabbed to death in a city flat.

Stephen McGovern, 37, was stabbed during a fight in a house in Avonspark Street, Barmulloch.

Police are looking for three men who were seen running from the house towards nearby Dykemuir Street.

Mr McGovern is a cousin of Tony McGovern, the head of the crime family, who was shot dead in 2000 outside the New Morvern pub in Springburn. Stephen McGovern's death is not believed to be connected with organised crime.

The stabbing took place around 7.45pm on Thursday. Mr McGovern was taken by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where he died shortly after admission.

Detectives want to trace the three men who were seen running from the house where the attack took place.

Police have carried out door-to-door inquiries in the area and the four-in-a-block property was sealed off yesterday for forensic examination.

Detective Chief Inspector John McGovern at Baird Street police station said: "We are currently conducting extensive inquiries into the circumstances surrounding this incident. Forensic officers are carrying out a detailed examination of the scene.

"We are aware that the incident took place within the house at Avonspark Street and would appeal to anyone who may have seen three males at or near that address or in the surrounding area around the time of the incident, or anyone who has any relevant information to contact Baird Street police office."

A post-mortem examination is being carried out and a report will be sent to the procurator-fiscal.

The McGovern family built up a fearsome reputation and controlled a crime empire in the north of Glasgow, amassing a fortune from drug dealing and pubs and other businesses estimated to be as much as £14m.

Three months before his death 39-year-old Tony McGovern survived an assassination attempt when he was shot three times in the shower at his home in Bishopbriggs.

A bar and petrol station owned by the McGovern family was raided and was the subject of a money laundering investigation in 2003. Associates of the McGoverns also had their assets frozen during the inquiry.