Featured Image Credit: World History Archive
Topics: Charles Bronson, UK News, Crime, True Crime
Dominic Smithers
Topics: Charles Bronson, UK News, Crime, True Crime
Charles Bronson has revealed that he has been gambling from prison for the past 50 years.
Once dubbed 'Britain's most violent prisoner', the 70-year-old has spent over half of his life behind bars.
And he's now become only the second-ever inmate in UK legal history to have been granted a public parole hearing, with members of the press piling into HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes to watch via livestream today (6 March).
The two-day hearing began with Bronson, who now uses the name Charles Salvador, giving evidence.
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During the session, he told the panel that he was ready to get out of prison and start a new life, claiming he had had 'more porridge than Goldilocks and the Three Bears' and was 'sick of it'.
Bronson also admitted that during his time in prison he had made a fair bit of money from betting, and said that only last year he had won £1,500.
When asked whether he was allowed to bet while behind bars, he replied: “Well, are you or ain’t you?
“No-one has ever said anything to me in 50 years.”
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And while he claimed that was 'not an addict', he said he had been enjoying a flutter for 50 years.
One of the main question marks over Bronson's potential suitability to being released from prison is his violent past.
He was first sent to prison for armed robbery back in 1974.
Over the years, his various crimes have seen him hold almost a dozen people hostage, including Phil Danielson, a prison art teacher he held for three days.
This particular instance saw him sentenced in 2000 to a discretionary life term with a minimum of four years.
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And in 2014, he was sentenced to a further three years for assaulting a prison governor.
When asked about some of these incidents, and why they happened, Bronson said: “I love a rumble. What man doesn’t?”
Referring to holding Mr Danielson hostage, Bronson told the hearing that in hindsight he should probably have just chinned him.
He also said he would actually like to meet up with him now over a brew and make amends for putting him through such a terrifying ordeal.
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Describing another bizarre scene, where he had a fight while in prison, Bronson said: “I took half a tub of Lurpak with me, stripped off and had the rumble of my life. It was f**king brilliant.”
Addressing his time at HMP Woodhill, Bronson said he feels it's time he was freed.
"I’ve had four years here now, I think I’ve outstayed my welcome," he told the panel.