Britain's most notorious prisoner Charles Bronson refused public parole hearing after decades behind bars

Daily Record

06-05-2025

Bronson is locked up for 23 hours a day, and was first jailed in 1974, when he was 22.
Britain's most violent prisoner Charles Bronson has been refused a parole hearing in public due to fears it would only increase his "notoriety".
He is locked up behind bars for 23 hours a day, and claimed if the hearing was carried out in private, it would "cause him undue emotional stress".
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The 72-year-old, who is currently inside HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, was first caged for armed robbery in 1974, at the age of 22, and has spent almost the rest of his life in prison, with just two short spells of freedom since.
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He said the prison service keeping him in close supervision institutions, meant for the country's most dangerous criminals, had held back his progress, reports the Mirror. However, the Justice Secretary argued his "readiness to resort to violence continues to be evident", claiming a public hearing could "prompt a display of violence".
In a written judgement, former judge Jeremy Roberts KC, who officially denied Bronson's request, said: "I believe that the notoriety which the prisoner has already achieved and which would no doubt be increased by holding this hearing in public might actually mitigate against better public understanding of the parole process. It might distract from the real issues in the case."
Bronson, whose real name is Michael Peterson, previously had a public parole hearing in 2023, which was one of the country's first. At the time, he said his "old mother, the Duchess" Eira Peterson dreamed of seeing her son released.
He told the panel: "She's 95 and she's not in the best of health. You people have got the power to let me out. That's my mum's last dream on this planet, to see her son outside, doing well, making a good honest living with my art. If you have a heart or any passion, give it to my mum and make an old lady's dream come true."
During his time in prison, he has instigated nine roof-top protests and taken 11 hostages, but refused to apologise for any of his actions. He said: "Am I sorry? Maybe. Would I do it again? Definitely not."
He admitted he deserved 35 years of the time he had spent behind bars. He said: "I've had more porridge than Goldilocks and the three bears. I'm sick of it. I've had enough and I want to go home." He said: "Compared to what I was, I'm almost an angel now."
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In 2014, he changed his surname to Salvador, which he said meant "man of peace", adding: "Bronson was a nasty b*****d. I wasn't a nice person and I didn't like him. Salvador is a man of peace. I feel peaceful."
But Bronson, who received the title of "Britain's most violent prisoner" after a series of attacks, also told the panel: "I love a rumble. What man doesn't?" But he confessed it was becoming a "bit more embarrassing" because of his age and he "had to grow up". He said: "There will be no more rumbles."
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One incident the panel was told of involved him stripping naked and "greased up": "I took half a tub of Lurpak with me, bare-knuckle stripped off and had the rumble of my life. It was f***ing brilliant."
In 1998, he took two Iraqi aircraft hijackers and another prisoner hostage at Belmarsh Prison in London, claiming he would eat one of his victims unless negotiators met his demands. He told the hearing: "They threatened to blow up a f***ing plane. I take them hostage and I'm the animal. They are all out now and I'm still in here. I've got no compassion for them."
Discussing taking prison teacher Phil Danielson hostage in 1999, he said: "I tied a skipping rope around his neck and took him for a walk around the landings. When the time is right for him, I would like to meet him and apologise." He said he told another hostage: "You've been my best hostage, you're the only one who hasn't s**t himself."
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When quizzed about a 2015 incident where he threw his own faeces at another inmate, he claimed the man had killed four people and threatened to stab him, and said the prisoner had asked him to do it so he could get compensation.
Asked about him causing prison governor Adrian Wallace to suffer post traumatic stress disorder, Bronson said: "Governor Wallace was an a***hole, is an a***hole and will die an a***hole." Bronson, who described himself as a "retired prison activist", added: "I was a horrible person and I couldn't stop taking hostages. I went through a phase, I couldn't help taking hostages.
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"I was battling against the system... it was my way of getting back. There's nothing better than wrapping a governor up like a Christmas turkey." Bronson claimed he often put a "lovely little bet" on "Spurs or Luton" on a Saturday and won £1,500 betting last year. He told the hearing: "I'm just a normal geezer wanting to get on with my life."
Bronson only received a seven-year sentence for his original crime of armed robbery. However, his bad behaviour gained him a reputation as a dangerous prisoner, and he wasn't released until 1987.
He spent just 69 days on the outside before being arrested and jailed again after he robbed a jewellers. He received another seven-year sentence but, apart from another brief period of freedom in 1992, has been behind bars ever since.
He has attacked at least 20 prison officers and caused £500,000 worth of damage in rooftop protests. He received a life sentence for taking Phil Danielson hostage, but his last conviction for a violent offence was for assault in 2014.