Britain’s most notorious prisoner Charles Bronson will launch a bid for freedom at a public parole hearing today.
He will argue that after nearly half-a-century in jail, most of it in solitary confinement, he is safe to be released.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is opposing his parole and will argue that Bronson, 70, is at high risk of serious harm to the public.
Bronson sent Sky News a postcard from his prison cell last week.
It showed an everyday London street scene – to him, freedom.
He was confident he would be released and wrote: “They should have compassion for my mother. It’s her life-long dream to see me free and happy.”
Image: Bronson sent Sky News a postcard from his prison cell
Bronson was jailed for armed robbery in 1974 and, but for a couple of brief episodes of freedom, has been in jail ever since.
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His original seven-year sentence has been extended many times because of his violent attacks on prison staff and fellow inmates.
In 1999, he held an art teacher hostage for two days in Hull prison and, although he didn’t physically hurt him, his victim was left so traumatised he never went back to work.
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Bronson was given a life sentence, with a minimum term of three years, but has had many parole bids turned down because of subsequent violent episodes.
His lawyers will argue that it’s eight years since his last conviction and four years since an internal prison adjudication for violence.
Bronson is currently assessed as a medium risk to staff and fellow inmates, but is still a Category A prisoner held in the close supervision centre (CSC) at Woodhill Prison near Milton Keynes.
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From July 2022: Bronson sends voice note to Sky News
His solicitor Dean Kingham said Bronson, who now calls himself Charles Salvador, is deliberately being prevented from making progress towards a less restricted regime.
He said: “It is clear to me that Mr Salvador is a political prisoner, given the lack of political will to progress someone as high profile as him. By keeping him in CSC conditions the (justice secretary) is trying to influence the Parole Board.”
Bronson’s family and supporters say it is unfair to keep him in jail when prisoners convicted of more serious offences have been granted parole.
In a voice message to Sky News from his cell last year, Bronson said: “It’s an absolute liberty. I’ve never murdered anyone, I’ve never raped anyone. What am I in jail for? People don’t believe it. They think I’m a serial killer.”
Former Metropolitan Police detective chief inspector Simon Harding said: “Bronson has an incredibly violent streak and it’s very, very risky to release people like that.
“And then, what happens if he is released? There’s all the monitoring involved because he will be on a life licence. He’s a very dangerous man who’s could be released into society very shortly.”
The Parole Board hearing is expected to last for three days, with a decision announced two weeks later.
The board could recommend freeing Bronson, moving him to an open prison or keeping him locked up.
The justice secretary can block a recommendation to release Bronson, but such a move would ultimately be decided by the courts.
The board will hear from prison and probation staff, a lawyer for the justice secretary and Bronson himself.
The hearing is being held in public at the Royal Courts of Justice, with Bronson appearing by video link from jail.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Bob Johnson, who first treated Bronson more than 30 years ago, said he should be freed.
“The Parole Board should say ‘this man has been locked up for 50 years, he has 50 years of problems, violence and unruly behaviour, but we’ve decided that he’s now low enough risk’,” he said.
“I think he probably is, but the transition from 50 years inside to outside life is going to be very, very dramatic.”
Image: Dr Bob Johnson with a letter from Charles Bronson
Dr Johnson was a controversial figure at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight, where he treated dozens of murderers and other violent men such as Bronson.
Instead of prescribing control drugs, he encouraged prisoners to understand and confront the reasons for their behaviour, which was often rooted in childhood trauma.
When the Home Office ended his contract, Bronson wrote him a letter in which he lamented his sudden departure.
He wrote: “A sad day to see you go, but I must admit I admire your principles. It’s a rare sight to see a doctor stand up to this system.
“Dr ****** was a man who believed in ‘drug control’, whereas you believed in humanity, then trust.
“Your way obviously worked as you cut the violence.”
Four people have been charged after £7m of damage was caused to two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton.
The investigation into the incident early on Friday 20 June was led by counter-terror police.
They have been charged with conspiracy to enter a prohibited place knowingly for a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of the UK – and conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
Image: Two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton were damaged. PA file pic
The four charged have been identified as:
• Amy Gardiner-Gibson, 29, of no fixed abode
• Daniel Jeronymides-Norie, 35, from London
• Jony Cink, 24, of no fixed abode
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• Lewie Chiaramello, 22, from London
They will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court later today.
A 41-year-old woman arrested last week on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released on bail until 19 September.
Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man detained on Saturday was released without charge.
Last month’s incident at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire was claimed by the activist group Palestine Action.
Rachel Reeves has not offered her resignation and is “going nowhere”, Downing Street has said, following her tearful appearance in the House of Commons.
A Number 10 spokesperson said the chancellor had the “full backing” of Sir Keir Starmer, despite Ms Reeves looking visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions.
A spokesperson for the chancellor later clarified that Ms Reeves had been affected by a “personal matter” and would be working out of Downing Street this afternoon.
UK government bond prices fell by the most since October 2022, and the pound tumbled after Ms Reeves’s Commons appearance, while the yield on the 10-year government bond, or gilt, rose as much as 22 basis points at one point to around 4.68%.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch branded the chancellor the “human shield” for the prime minister’s “incompetence” just hours after he was forced to perform a humiliating U-turn over his controversial welfare bill.
Emotional Reeves a painful watch – and reminder of tough decisions ahead
It is hard to think of a PMQs like it – it was a painful watch.
The prime minister battled on, his tone assured, even if his actual words were not always convincing.
But it was the chancellor next to him that attracted the most attention.
Rachel Reeves looked visibly upset.
It is hard to know for sure right now what was going on behind the scenes, the reasons – predictable or otherwise – why she appeared to be emotional, but it was noticeable and it was difficult to watch.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Badenoch said: “This man has forgotten that his welfare bill was there to plug a black hole created by the chancellor. Instead they’re creating new ones.”
Turning to the chancellor, the Tory leader added: “[She] is pointing at me – she looks absolutely miserable.
“Labour MPs are going on the record saying that the chancellor is toast, and the reality is that she is a human shield for his incompetence. In January, he said that she would be in post until the next election. Will she really?”
Not fully answering the question, the prime minister replied: “[Ms Badenoch] certainly won’t.
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Welfare vote ‘a blow to the prime minister’
“I have to say, I’m always cheered up when she asks me questions or responds to a statement because she always makes a complete mess of it and shows just how unserious and irrelevant they are.”
Mrs Badenoch interjected: “How awful for the chancellor that he couldn’t confirm that she would stay in place.”
A total of 49 Labour MPs voted against the bill – the largest rebellion in a prime minister’s first year in office since 47 MPs voted against Tony Blair’s Lone Parent benefit in 1997, according to Professor Phil Cowley from Queen Mary University.
After multiple concessions made due to threats of a Labour rebellion, many MPs questioned what they were voting for as the bill had been severely stripped down.
They ended up voting for only one part of the plan: a cut to Universal Credit (UC) sickness benefits for new claimants from £97 a week to £50 from 2026/7.
Ms Badenoch said the climbdown was proof that Sir Keir was “too weak to get anything done”.
Ms Reeves has also borne a lot of the criticism over the handling of the vote, with some MPs believing that her strict approach to fiscal rules has meant she has approached the ballooning welfare bill from the standpoint of trying to make savings, rather than getting people into work.
Experts have now warned that the welfare U-turn, on top of reversing the cut to winter fuel, means that tax rises in the autumn are more likely – with Ms Reeves now needing to find £5bn to make up for the policy U-turns.
Asked by Ms Badenoch whether he could rule out further tax rises – something Labour promised it would not do on working people in its manifesto – Sir Keir said: “She knows that no prime minister or chancellor ever stands at the despatch box and writes budgets in the future.
“But she talks about growth, for 14 years we had stagnation, and that is what caused the problem.”
Prosecutors are considering whether to bring further criminal charges against Lucy Letby over the deaths of babies at two hospitals where she worked
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had received “a full file of evidence from Cheshire Constabulary asking us to consider further allegations in relation to deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital”.
“We will now carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any further criminal charges should be brought,” it added.
“As always, we will make that decision independently, based on the evidence and in line with our legal test.”
Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital and is currently serving 15 whole-life orders.
Image: Letby worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital
She is understood to have carried out two work placements at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she trained as a student, between October and December 2012, and January and February 2015.
Police said in December that Letby was interviewed in prison as part of an investigation into more baby deaths and non-fatal collapses.
A Cheshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Cheshire Constabulary has submitted a full file of evidence to the CPS for charging advice regarding the ongoing investigation into deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital as part of Operation Hummingbird.”
Detectives previously said the investigation was looking into the full period of time that Letby worked as a nurse, covering the period from 2012 to 2016 and including a review of 4,000 admissions of babies.
Letby’s lawyer Mark McDonald said: “The evidence of the innocence of Lucy Letby is overwhelming,” adding: “We will cross every bridge when we get to it but if Lucy is charged I know we have a whole army of internationally renowned medical experts who will totally undermine the prosecution’s unfounded allegations.”
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Three managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
Earlier this year, Letby’s lawyers called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.