EXCLUSIVE: Charles Bronson could be free in months as UK’s most notorious lag makes fresh bid
Charles Bronson, who has changed his name to Charles Salvador, has been convicted multiple times since 1974 for crimes including armed robbery, wounding, criminal damage and grievous bodily harm
Britain’s most notorious prisoner Charles Bronson is making a fresh freedom bid – half a century after he was first locked up.
The armed robber, 72, could be out in months as Parole Board chiefs are reviewing his case for the ninth time. A friend said: “He fears dying in prison. This could be his one and only chance of freedom. It has been several years now since he has been violent. He is not the person he was. We hope this will be the year he is released.”
Bronson, who has changed his name to Charles Salvador, was first jailed in 1974 at the age of 22 for armed robbery and wounding. He was released in 1987 and became a bare-knuckle boxer but was jailed the following year for another armed robbery. He has spent most of his life inside for a string of attacks on warders and prisoners, earning him the reputation of Britain’s most violent inmate.
Bronson has been dubbed the ‘most violent prisoner in Britain’(Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The lag ‘fears he will die in prison,’ it is said(Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
In one trial he described how he had held 11 hostages in nine different sieges. The last parole hearing two years ago refused to move him to an open prison.
The panel noticed “evidence of improved self-control and better emotional management” but “could not be satisfied he has the skills to manage his risk of future violence…”
Born in Luton in Bedfordshire as Michael Peterson, he is in HMP Woodhill, Milton Keynes. The Parole Board said the next hearing could last a day or more with evidence from psychiatrists, prison officers and victims.
It said: “Decisions are focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable… It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length.”
Ex-Met detective Peter Bleksley said: “I think there will be a huge fear within the Parole Board that Charles Bronson can be released. He has an appalling criminal history while behind bars.”
