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The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Shocking tapes reveal unbreakable bond between Kray twins & how vain overreaction led to brutal machete attack
DURING their brutal 10-year reign as London's kingpin gangsters, Ronnie and Reggie Kray were known as hard men who let their fists do the talking before moving onto knives, guns and murder. But the notorious 18 The remarkable bond between the Kray twins is revealed newly unearthed tapes Credit: Getty 18 The brothers made a name for themselves mixing with London celebrities Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 18 Family friend Maureen Flanagan remembers how the pair were always inseparable Credit: David New - The Sun The loving relationship has been revealed in remarkable, never-before-heard prison tapes that Reggie made to his twin brother from one prison to another, along with his own personal memories of their life together. The two-part Amazon documentary, Krays: London's Gangsters, also features interviews with their criminal associates, family friends and psychologists in an attempt to get under their skin and discover the men inside the monsters. In 1995, both brothers were serving a Reggie was in Maidstone Prison while Ronnie, who for years had struggled with mental health issues, was in Read More Features Always protective of his more volatile brother, Reggie recorded a message on tape for him to listen to, hoping that the sound of his voice would reassure him in his darkest moments. 'Hello, Ron,' it began. 'Reg speaking. Now, I'm very concerned for you of late but I wish to help you. You are making yourself suffer by thinking bad thoughts. You must only think of good thoughts. 'Life gets shorter and shorter as each day goes by. Try to realise what I'm telling you because here's the truth and any time you get down just play this tape again.' In another message to Ronnie, Reggie attempted to calm his increasing paranoia with the words: 'You are inflicted with an illness. You should realise that no one is talking about you. That you are paranoid. As soon as you realise you are paranoid, you should give other people the benefit of the doubt because they are not talking about you.' Most read in The Sun The close bond they shared throughout their life was stretched when they were imprisoned away from each other but Reggie attempted to ease Ronnie's anxiety with a philosophical approach: 'Life is very complex, as you know, but according to the universal laws, each one of us has a role in life. This is the path that we've all been pushed on, you know? All our paths take different ways.' Just weeks after Reggie recorded the tape to his brother, Ronnie passed away at the age of 61. Ronnie Field on his life as one of the country's most feared bank robbers Their reliance on each other was evident as babies as family friend, Maureen Flanagan, reveals. Maureen was a hairdresser for the twin's beloved mother, Violet, who she used to visit at her home in Vallance Road in Bethnal Green, East London. 'The first brother that I met was the eldest one, Charlie,' she says. 'He remarked about what gorgeous hair I had. It was all hanging down, long and blonde and looking quite glamorous, I suppose. And I said 'I'm a hairdresser' and he said, 'You wouldn't go to our home and do my mother's hair?' 'I pulled up in my white Mini and knocked at the door and this little lady came out and said, 'Hello darling. You must be Maureen. Would you like a tea, coffee? I've made a beautiful cake.' Tight upbringing 'As I was having tea and cake I noticed some photographs along the mantelpiece and I got up to have a look and one was of two boys in their boxing shorts and boxing gloves and they were absolutely identical. 'Then she started telling me about the time when they were three and they both caught diphtheria. People always talk to hairdressers! 'They were put into the 18 Maureen was hairdresser to the twins' mum Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 18 Ronnie and Reggie could do no wrong in the eyes of their mother Violet Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 18 While in prison the twins would make toys for her Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd "So, she marched down to the hospital and said, 'I'm taking him home.' They said, 'You can't move him. This is a really dangerous situation. He might not make it through the night.' She said, 'I'm taking him home.' 'She wrapped him in a blanket, walked home and put him next to Reggie in bed and wrapped the two babies in the same blanket so they were as close as they could be. And in two days he was better. All he needed was his twin. "I think that was probably the start of their togetherness. They couldn't get away from each other and didn't want to. 'They were called 'The two ones.' Their aunties used to say, 'Where's the two ones, Violet?' It was like two people in one.' Professor Ruth Penfold-Mounce, a criminologist at the University of York, says that the boys would have attracted an instant celebrity status when they were born in the 1930s. The problem with twin that they are not encouraged to develop separately as individuals Vivienne Lewin 'At the time when they were born, it was really unusual to have identical twins who survived infancy,' she says. 'When Violet was walking down the street with her twin sons, people would have noticed. People would have stopped and stared. There was like a minor celebrity status that surrounded these boys.' Vivienne Lewin, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist explains how they would have been conditioned to have been influenced by each other. 'There are some 'The problem with twin development, where the twins themselves and twin-ship is idealised, is that they are not encouraged to develop separately as individuals. Sometimes, to the extent that they are really very entangled with each other and have difficulty leading separate lives.' This was undoubtedly the case with Reggie and Ronnie, who were born on 24 October 1933. Their father, Charlie Snr., a street-seller on the run from the police for refusing to be conscripted into the army, was largely absent during their childhood, but Violet showered them with love. 18 Both brothers were keen boxers Credit: Getty - Contributor 18 The gangsters hosted stars such as boxer Sonny Liston Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 18 The peer Lord Boothby was another close associate of the twins Credit: Channel 4 Broadcaster and TV presenter 'Violet was often called to their school because of their fighting,' says Maureen. 'All little boys fought but they fought back to back. In other words, if Ronnie had hit a boy and the boy had hit back and got his mate to join in, Reggie would go and stand with his back to Ronnie.' Rising stars At the end of the war they took up boxing which became a big part of their teens. Both were very adept at it, particularly Ronnie, and that, along with glowing reports in the local newspaper of their success, gave them extra status in the area. It also fuelled their arrogance. Most clubs are very respectable and I don't think there's any trouble at all in them…. except occasionally Reggie In 1952, they were conscripted into National Service for two years. They turned up but Ronnie lost his temper with the CO's attitude so he punched him on the nose and they walked out and went home. Effectively, they were dishonourably discharged and ended up serving their two years in prison instead and were released when they were 20. A life of crime now lay ahead. They bought a run-down billiard hall which they built up and started a protection racket business on the side. This led to several clubs and casinos in London during the late 50s and 1960s which attracted the celebrities of the day, including 18 Maureen Flanagan speaks in the new documentary about the twins Credit: supplied 18 Ronnie and Reggie's thriving club business gave them the opportunity to blend into polite society Credit: Channel 4 18 Veteran broadcaster Fred Dinenage was the Kray's official biographer Credit: supplied The twins loved the glamour, impeccably dressed in made to measure suits, crisp white shirts and silk ties. Ronnie, in particular, idolised gangsters from Hollywood films played by the likes of Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. Such was their fame that they were even interviewed on the BBC, in which they talked about being club owners and that a little bit of violence was sometimes justified. 'You will get the occasional drunk and sometimes they have to be slung out and that's why there are doormen,' said Reggie. 'I suppose it's like club land all over the world. I don't suppose it can be all that bad or else people wouldn't go to them, would they?' Ronnie chipped in: 'Most clubs are very respectable and I don't think there's any trouble at all in them…. except occasionally.' He took him in the toilet and slashed his face and the back of his head with a machete that he had in his overcoat Maureen With a thriving club business, they could have turned away from violence and the criminal world, but they didn't. 'They threw it all away,' says Dinenage. 'Reggie would be quite content to get dressed every evening, go to his clubs, take his money, pay his people and live a good life,' says Maureen. 'But he was a twin. He was half of another half and that other half was Violent spirals Ron's mental issues had him on heavy medication but when he didn't take it he became volatile and dangerous and had paranoid thoughts. 18 Though very different in personality the boys were inseparable their whole life Credit: Getty - Contributor 18 Ron's erratic behaviour proved the twins downfall Credit: Getty 18 Both were jailed for life in a high profile trial Credit: Prime Video 'As he was put on stronger medication, Ronnie became puffy in the face and put on a stone, which he hated,' says Maureen. 'I heard one day in the pub there was a man who said, 'Hello, Ron. How are you? You've put on a bit of timber.' Ronnie looked down at himself and said, 'Yeah, I have.' 'He walked out and got in a car, drove half a mile down the road, turned round, came back to the pub and said to the man, 'I want to talk to you for a minute.' He took him in the toilet and slashed his face and the back of his head with a machete that he had in his overcoat. 'People asked him why he did it. He was happily talking to the man. And he just replied, 'That will teach him to talk about my weight.' That's how he could change in an instant.' We finished up having knocked them all out, and they lay in front of the band and the band was still playing the music Reggie 'A memory I've got is when Ron and myself was in a dance hall in 'We saw about five fellas who came from the Stamford Hill area. Ron and I waited for them to come across and as they did so, right in front of the band, we hit them on the chin and also hit them on the heads with chairs. It was just like the cowboy days. We finished up having knocked them all out, and they lay in front of the band and the band was still playing the music.' Another memory was: 'We were sitting on bar stools. There's Ron and I, and we were drinking gin and tonics, when three fellas came into the pub and they stood behind Ron and started making detrimental remarks against Ron, and I watched him as he stepped down from the bar stool and hit one with a right hand punch. Knocked him spark out. Turned the other way and hit another one with a left hook.' Feeling invincible, they took things too far and the murder of rival gangster, Reg's new wife 18 Reggie was married to Frances Shae though she took her own life shortly after Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 18 Their downfall came when enough witnesses agreed to speak out Credit: Getty 18 Reggie was allowed out of prison - under guard - to attend the funerals of his brothers Credit: PA:Press Association The pair bizarrely tried to get a Roy Jenkins, Home Secretary of the time, flatly refused and with Mitchell now a liability on their hands, they arranged for him to be murdered and his body disposed of. With the police now committed to putting the Krays behind bars, they offered protection for those willing to come forward, including the barmaid at the Blind Beggar who gave evidence against them in court about the murder of George Cornell. Ronnie and Reggie were firmly behind bars in 1969, having been given life sentences with a minimum of 30 years to be served. Reggie was allowed out, on compassionate grounds, to attend Ronnie's What you give out in life is returned to you give out love, love will be returned to you Reggie Kray Five years after Ronnie's death, Reggie died of cancer at the age of 66. He was buried next to his twin. Whether it was irony or that he had finally discovered the decent, sensible and happy way to live, is unclear. But Reggie commented on his 1995 tape: 'What you give out in life is returned to you. If you give out love, love will be returned to you. If you give out hatred, hatred will be returned to you.' Krays: London's Gangsters is on Amazon Prime Video now
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Shocking tapes reveal unbreakable bond between Kray twins & how vain overreaction led to brutal machete attack
DURING their brutal 10-year reign as London's kingpin gangsters, Ronnie and Reggie Kray were known as hard men who let their fists do the talking before moving onto knives, guns and murder. But the notorious pair shared an incredibly tender bond which few would have understood - until now. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 18 The remarkable bond between the Kray twins is revealed newly unearthed tapes Credit: Getty 18 The brothers made a name for themselves mixing with London celebrities Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 18 Family friend Maureen Flanagan remembers how the pair were always inseparable Credit: David New - The Sun The loving relationship has been revealed in remarkable, never-before-heard prison tapes that Reggie made to his twin brother from one prison to another, along with his own personal memories of their life together. The two-part Amazon documentary, Krays: London's Gangsters, also features interviews with their criminal associates, family friends and psychologists in an attempt to get under their skin and discover the men inside the monsters. In 1995, both brothers were serving a life sentence for the murder of fellow gangster, Jack 'The Hat' McVitie. Reggie was in Maidstone Prison while Ronnie, who for years had struggled with mental health issues, was in Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital. Always protective of his more volatile brother, Reggie recorded a message on tape for him to listen to, hoping that the sound of his voice would reassure him in his darkest moments. 'Hello, Ron,' it began. 'Reg speaking. Now, I'm very concerned for you of late but I wish to help you. You are making yourself suffer by thinking bad thoughts. You must only think of good thoughts. 'Life gets shorter and shorter as each day goes by. Try to realise what I'm telling you because here's the truth and any time you get down just play this tape again.' In another message to Ronnie, Reggie attempted to calm his increasing paranoia with the words: 'You are inflicted with an illness. You should realise that no one is talking about you. That you are paranoid. As soon as you realise you are paranoid, you should give other people the benefit of the doubt because they are not talking about you.' The close bond they shared throughout their life was stretched when they were imprisoned away from each other but Reggie attempted to ease Ronnie's anxiety with a philosophical approach: 'Life is very complex, as you know, but according to the universal laws, each one of us has a role in life. This is the path that we've all been pushed on, you know? All our paths take different ways.' Just weeks after Reggie recorded the tape to his brother, Ronnie passed away at the age of 61. Ronnie Field on his life as one of the country's most feared bank robbers Their reliance on each other was evident as babies as family friend, Maureen Flanagan, reveals. Maureen was a hairdresser for the twin's beloved mother, Violet, who she used to visit at her home in Vallance Road in Bethnal Green, East London. 'The first brother that I met was the eldest one, Charlie,' she says. 'He remarked about what gorgeous hair I had. It was all hanging down, long and blonde and looking quite glamorous, I suppose. And I said 'I'm a hairdresser' and he said, 'You wouldn't go to our home and do my mother's hair?' 'I pulled up in my white Mini and knocked at the door and this little lady came out and said, 'Hello darling. You must be Maureen. Would you like a tea, coffee? I've made a beautiful cake.' Tight upbringing 'As I was having tea and cake I noticed some photographs along the mantelpiece and I got up to have a look and one was of two boys in their boxing shorts and boxing gloves and they were absolutely identical. 'Then she started telling me about the time when they were three and they both caught diphtheria. People always talk to hairdressers! 'They were put into the London Hospital where Reggie got better and Violet was told she could take him home but Ronnie continued to get worse and she was told that he might not survive. 18 Maureen was hairdresser to the twins' mum Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd 18 Ronnie and Reggie could do no wrong in the eyes of their mother Violet Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 18 While in prison the twins would make toys for her Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd "So, she marched down to the hospital and said, 'I'm taking him home.' They said, 'You can't move him. This is a really dangerous situation. He might not make it through the night.' She said, 'I'm taking him home.' 'She wrapped him in a blanket, walked home and put him next to Reggie in bed and wrapped the two babies in the same blanket so they were as close as they could be. And in two days he was better. All he needed was his twin. "I think that was probably the start of their togetherness. They couldn't get away from each other and didn't want to. 'They were called 'The two ones.' Their aunties used to say, 'Where's the two ones, Violet?' It was like two people in one.' Professor Ruth Penfold-Mounce, a criminologist at the University of York, says that the boys would have attracted an instant celebrity status when they were born in the 1930s. The problem with twin that they are not encouraged to develop separately as individuals Vivienne Lewin 'At the time when they were born, it was really unusual to have identical twins who survived infancy,' she says. 'When Violet was walking down the street with her twin sons, people would have noticed. People would have stopped and stared. There was like a minor celebrity status that surrounded these boys.' Vivienne Lewin, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist explains how they would have been conditioned to have been influenced by each other. 'There are some misconceptions about twins,' she says. 'The most damaging one, I think, is that they are two halves of one. But the fact is, no two twins are two halves of one. Each is an absolute separate individual with an individual personality. 'The problem with twin development, where the twins themselves and twin-ship is idealised, is that they are not encouraged to develop separately as individuals. Sometimes, to the extent that they are really very entangled with each other and have difficulty leading separate lives.' This was undoubtedly the case with Reggie and Ronnie, who were born on 24 October 1933. Their father, Charlie Snr., a street-seller on the run from the police for refusing to be conscripted into the army, was largely absent during their childhood, but Violet showered them with love. 18 Both brothers were keen boxers Credit: Getty - Contributor 18 The gangsters hosted stars such as boxer Sonny Liston Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 18 The peer Lord Boothby was another close associate of the twins Credit: Channel 4 Broadcaster and TV presenter Fred Dineage, who wrote the Krays official biography, says: 'Violet always said that her twins were special and she treated them like that. She treated them like pieces of rare bone china, really. They could do no wrong in her eyes.' 'Violet was often called to their school because of their fighting,' says Maureen. 'All little boys fought but they fought back to back. In other words, if Ronnie had hit a boy and the boy had hit back and got his mate to join in, Reggie would go and stand with his back to Ronnie.' Rising stars At the end of the war they took up boxing which became a big part of their teens. Both were very adept at it, particularly Ronnie, and that, along with glowing reports in the local newspaper of their success, gave them extra status in the area. It also fuelled their arrogance. Most clubs are very respectable and I don't think there's any trouble at all in them…. except occasionally Reggie In 1952, they were conscripted into National Service for two years. They turned up but Ronnie lost his temper with the CO's attitude so he punched him on the nose and they walked out and went home. Effectively, they were dishonourably discharged and ended up serving their two years in prison instead and were released when they were 20. A life of crime now lay ahead. They bought a run-down billiard hall which they built up and started a protection racket business on the side. This led to several clubs and casinos in London during the late 50s and 1960s which attracted the celebrities of the day, including Barbara Windsor Diana Dors, Shirley Bassey, Terence Stamp, David Bailey, Christine Keeler and even Judy Garland and World Heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston, when they were in town. 18 Maureen Flanagan speaks in the new documentary about the twins Credit: supplied 18 Ronnie and Reggie's thriving club business gave them the opportunity to blend into polite society Credit: Channel 4 18 Veteran broadcaster Fred Dinenage was the Kray's official biographer Credit: supplied The twins loved the glamour, impeccably dressed in made to measure suits, crisp white shirts and silk ties. Ronnie, in particular, idolised gangsters from Hollywood films played by the likes of Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney. Such was their fame that they were even interviewed on the BBC, in which they talked about being club owners and that a little bit of violence was sometimes justified. 'You will get the occasional drunk and sometimes they have to be slung out and that's why there are doormen,' said Reggie. 'I suppose it's like club land all over the world. I don't suppose it can be all that bad or else people wouldn't go to them, would they?' Ronnie chipped in: 'Most clubs are very respectable and I don't think there's any trouble at all in them…. except occasionally.' He took him in the toilet and slashed his face and the back of his head with a machete that he had in his overcoat Maureen With a thriving club business, they could have turned away from violence and the criminal world, but they didn't. 'They threw it all away,' says Dinenage. 'Reggie would be quite content to get dressed every evening, go to his clubs, take his money, pay his people and live a good life,' says Maureen. 'But he was a twin. He was half of another half and that other half was Ronnie Kray.' Violent spirals Ron's mental issues had him on heavy medication but when he didn't take it he became volatile and dangerous and had paranoid thoughts. 18 Though very different in personality the boys were inseparable their whole life Credit: Getty - Contributor 18 Ron's erratic behaviour proved the twins downfall Credit: Getty 18 Both were jailed for life in a high profile trial Credit: Prime Video 'As he was put on stronger medication, Ronnie became puffy in the face and put on a stone, which he hated,' says Maureen. 'I heard one day in the pub there was a man who said, 'Hello, Ron. How are you? You've put on a bit of timber.' Ronnie looked down at himself and said, 'Yeah, I have.' 'He walked out and got in a car, drove half a mile down the road, turned round, came back to the pub and said to the man, 'I want to talk to you for a minute.' He took him in the toilet and slashed his face and the back of his head with a machete that he had in his overcoat. 'People asked him why he did it. He was happily talking to the man. And he just replied, 'That will teach him to talk about my weight.' That's how he could change in an instant.' We finished up having knocked them all out, and they lay in front of the band and the band was still playing the music Reggie Reggie recorded his memories of life with Ronnie in his tapes made in 1995, relishing their violent episodes. 'A memory I've got is when Ron and myself was in a dance hall in Tottenham,' he said. 'We saw about five fellas who came from the Stamford Hill area. Ron and I waited for them to come across and as they did so, right in front of the band, we hit them on the chin and also hit them on the heads with chairs. It was just like the cowboy days. We finished up having knocked them all out, and they lay in front of the band and the band was still playing the music.' Another memory was: 'We were sitting on bar stools. There's Ron and I, and we were drinking gin and tonics, when three fellas came into the pub and they stood behind Ron and started making detrimental remarks against Ron, and I watched him as he stepped down from the bar stool and hit one with a right hand punch. Knocked him spark out. Turned the other way and hit another one with a left hook.' Feeling invincible, they took things too far and the murder of rival gangster, George Cornell in The Blind Beggar Pub, was the beginning of their downfall. Ronnie walked in and shot him between the eyes in front of a handful of drinkers and a traumatised barmaid. But they were all too scared to say anything to police. Reg's new wife Frances – who Ronnie jealously resented for coming between him and his brother – had recently taken her own life by taking an overdose. He was not thinking straight and was increasingly being led along by Ronnie into his crazy and dangerous exploits. 18 Reggie was married to Frances Shae though she took her own life shortly after Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 18 Their downfall came when enough witnesses agreed to speak out Credit: Getty 18 Reggie was allowed out of prison - under guard - to attend the funerals of his brothers Credit: PA:Press Association The pair bizarrely tried to get a friend of Ronnie's, Frank 'The Mad Axeman' Mitchell, a release date from prison. They helped him escape and hid him away, telling him to write to the Home Secretary saying 'If you give me a date for my release I will give myself up.' Roy Jenkins, Home Secretary of the time, flatly refused and with Mitchell now a liability on their hands, they arranged for him to be murdered and his body disposed of. Jack 'The Hat' McVitie was next to be brutally stabbed to death by Reggie after he was paid but failed to carry out the task of killing their business manager, Leslie Payne, for talking to police after being concerned by the twins increasing violence. With the police now committed to putting the Krays behind bars, they offered protection for those willing to come forward, including the barmaid at the Blind Beggar who gave evidence against them in court about the murder of George Cornell. Ronnie and Reggie were firmly behind bars in 1969, having been given life sentences with a minimum of 30 years to be served. Reggie was allowed out, on compassionate grounds, to attend Ronnie's funeral in March 1995, where crowds lined the streets. Amongst the floral tributes was one from Reggie – flowers that spelt out 'To the other half of me' – and a wreath from Barbara Windsor. What you give out in life is returned to you give out love, love will be returned to you Reggie Kray Five years after Ronnie's death, Reggie died of cancer at the age of 66. He was buried next to his twin. Whether it was irony or that he had finally discovered the decent, sensible and happy way to live, is unclear. But Reggie commented on his 1995 tape: 'What you give out in life is returned to you. If you give out love, love will be returned to you. If you give out hatred, hatred will be returned to you.' Krays: London's Gangsters is on Amazon Prime Video now
Scotsman
12-07-2025
- Scotsman
9 things you almost certainly miss about the 60s if you lived through them
1 . Cheap package holidays without the guilt The 60s was when foreign travel first became affordable for many people in the UK, with cheap flights and package holidays sparking a summer exodus to resorts in Spain, Italy and elsewhere across Europe. We soaked up the sun, absorbed the culture and sampled the cuisine - all without the guilt of knowing the harm those air miles were wreaking on the planet. Pictured here is a holidaymaker learning how to drink wine 'the traditional Spanish way' in Majorca in 1967. | Getty Images Photo: Chris Ware/Keystone Features/HultonArchive
Scotsman
12-07-2025
- Scotsman
9 things you almost certainly miss about the 60s if you lived through them
1 . Cheap package holidays without the guilt The 60s was when foreign travel first became affordable for many people in the UK, with cheap flights and package holidays sparking a summer exodus to resorts in Spain, Italy and elsewhere across Europe. We soaked up the sun, absorbed the culture and sampled the cuisine - all without the guilt of knowing the harm those air miles were wreaking on the planet. Pictured here is a holidaymaker learning how to drink wine 'the traditional Spanish way' in Majorca in 1967. | Getty Images Photo: Chris Ware/Keystone Features/HultonArchive
Scottish Sun
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
I was jailed with UK's most evil killers… I slapped Myra Hindley for sick tune & saw raging Rose West froth at mouth
Convicted killer Linda Calvey describes the bizarre incident which sent serial killer Rose West into a blind rage DARK TIME I was jailed with UK's most evil killers… I slapped Myra Hindley for sick tune & saw raging Rose West froth at mouth HEARING 'Britain's most evil woman' cheerfully singing along to the radio, convicted killer Linda Calvey felt something snap inside. Seconds later Linda - dubbed 'The Black Widow' - slapped child killer Myra Hindley so hard she left a handprint mark on her face, leaving the child killer recoiling in horror and pain. 12 Evil Myra Hindley was considered the 'most evil woman in Britain' due to her crimes Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty 12 Linda reveals the Moors Murderer considered her 'a friend' - much to her annoyance 12 She labelled Rose West 'not very intelligent, drab and dull' Credit: PA:Press Association 'It all happened in a split-second,' Linda tells us. 'I yelled, 'How dare you sing when you murdered all of those children!' I slapped her without thinking.' This was her first of many encounters with the Moors Murderer, who butchered five kids aged 10 to 17 alongside partner Ian Brady in the Sixties, in three different prisons. Linda, jailed for multiple robbery offences and murder, would, reluctantly, get to know Myra better than anyone behind bars and now reveals all for The Sun's Meeting a Monster series. She tells us how Hindley duped prison staff to feed her interest in the occult and hid her secret fling with another notorious inmate. Recalling her attack on Myra, Linda tells us: 'I walked into the washing room and couldn't believe she was singing along to the radio. 'The next second I snapped, before I knew it, without even thinking, I slapped her. I thought, 'Oh God, what have I done?' but I'm still glad to this day that I did it. 'I remember she looked at me, rubbed her face and there was a handprint. She yelled, 'I could get you shipped off to [HMP] Holloway'. 'I said 'Holloway holds no fears for me' and walked out. The mad thing is she never reported me but I think part of it was that she had been attacked so many times before. 'Prior to that an inmate had broken her nose and there were various other issues, I think she feared officers would force her to give up her job washing inmates' clothes. 'That wouldn't have benefitted her, she would have been locked in her cell all day with nothing to do.' Pathetic last days of Rose West revealed as serial killer monster can barely walk, has no friends & has new fake identity 12 Moors Murderer Myra and Ian Brady committed abhorrent killings during the Sixties Credit: Shutterstock 12 Evil Ian Brady died at the age of 79 Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty It would take four more encounters before Myra spoke again to Linda - who next week releases gangland crime fiction Hope, loosely influenced by her experiences in prison and London's East End underworld. By this time, Hindley no longer sported her trademark blonde hair, instead dying it red. But she had the same 'harsh features and look about her' that made many lags feel uncomfortable. 'You wouldn't look at her twice on the street. She looked more like an everyday housewife than a monster but there was this evil, horrible feeling around her,' Linda recalls. 'There was no warmth or niceness. She had this unpleasant aura and was very aloof but highly, highly intelligent.' Evil obsession Linda worked in the prison library and Myra would often come in to order books - permitted for inmates - but the monster had a dark motive behind it. While she requested romantic books under her own name, she secretly used the identity of other inmates to pursue her real passion. 'She would say, 'Can you order a book under this name?' and choose totally different books. They were about Adolf Hitler, black magic and obscure things,' Linda says. 'I told one of the staff, 'This is ridiculous. Is she allowed to do this?' 'They told me to just order the books. Myra bucked the system and it proved her true feelings and desires. This was long into her sentence too.' The serial killer considered herself 'far superior' to her fellow inmates who she considered 'stupid and thick' according to Linda. It was right for her to suffer so intensely at the end of her life after all the harm she caused. I remember I used to look at her and think, 'You deserve this' Linda on Myra Hindley Myra mainly kept to herself and few prisoners wanted to talk to her. One who did was fellow monster Rose West, who tortured and killed 10 young women with her husband Fred. Linda noted that they 'became thick as thieves', spending every meal time and any spare moments together, as well as often disappearing into each other's cells, in HMP Durham. 'Everybody knew they were having a fling, it was like they were stuck together. It's just beyond belief to think about,' Linda says. 'These were the two worst women in Britain, two mass murderers, and they were getting involved with each other, having an affair. 'They used to go to each other's cells all of the time and while you couldn't lock the door you could close it. Everybody knew what was going on. 'I remember one prison officer, who came over from the men's wing, being horrified when he saw them together and said, 'If I had a camera I could retire tomorrow.'' Their fling lasted seven weeks before it 'suddenly stopped' according to Linda, which she found 'very bizarre' due to how cosy they had been. She suspects the lawyer representing Rose, who was then awaiting trial, may have advised her against spending time with Myra because it was 'not a good idea and didn't look good'. 'Poetic justice' The final time Linda met Myra was in HMP Highpoint, where the villain was kept isolated living in two cells between the hospital wing and cell block. 12 Myra Hindley and Ian Brady murdered five kids Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 12 West lost her temper and flew into furious rages in front of Linda Credit: Alamy Linda says: 'It was called 'no man's land' and they decided she had to live there. Her life was totally solitary. She lived in one cell and she had a job repairing books in the other. 'She was a really ill woman then. She did suffer a lot. She had such brittle bones that they were always snapping and chronic COPD but remained a chain smoker. 'Normally you'd feel sympathy for someone like that - 'that poor person' - but for her it felt like poetic justice. 'It was right for her to suffer so intensely at the end of her life after all the harm she caused. I remember I used to look at her and think, 'You deserve this.'' Knowing she trained as a hairdresser and that they had met before, Linda was the unfortunate soul picked to style Myra hair - a task she couldn't refuse, fearing it would impact her chance of parole. She would dye it red once a month and wash it twice a week and noted that the murderer was 'very particular' as her hair was the 'only thing left she could control'. During their time together, Myra asked about life on the prison wing and spoke about her longing to go to the gym - which she was unable to do. In a bizarre moment, after several weeks styling her hair, Linda was forced to speak to Myra's mum on the phone and was told she was the beast's 'only pal'. 'With a really elderly voice, her mum said 'Hello' and 'I'm so pleased my Myra's finally got a friend',' Linda tells us. She was hysterical, absolutely enraged and yelled, 'He should be hanged! That poor cyclist'. While yes, it was terrible, that was coming from a mass murderer Linda on Rose West 'I thought, 'I am not her friend', but didn't say it. I thought about all her poor mum must have suffered having her for a daughter. She must have taken a lot of stick.' Myra was so desperate for attention that she gave Linda a bevvy of gifts including a cardigan 'to keep me warm, which looked awful' and an empty chocolate box, because it was velvet and she thought it 'looked lovely' . The monster, who died from respiratory failure in 2002, had a miserable time rotting in prison before she passed. Linda says: 'Myra was really lonely and the longer into the sentence she got the worse it was for her. In HMP Highpoint she couldn't mix with anyone and had a very lonely existence in the final two years before she died.' 'Foaming with rage' Another famous lag Linda shared her stint with was Rose West - but unlike Myra, the former was a woman of 'quite low intelligence'. One moment that highlighted it to her, was the night her husband Fred took his own life in 1995 while the House of Horrors killers were awaiting trial. 'We could hear the men from the male prison wing singing 'Fred West, has gone and hung himself' to the tune of The Village People song Go West,' Linda says. 'We all heard it but Rose never associated what they were singing with Fred having killed himself and that it was about her husband. She wasn't intelligent. 'When she found out about his suicide, she wasn't happy at all. She wasn't upset, she was angry and absolutely raving about what he had done. 12 West was 'absolutely raving' when she discovered husband Fred killed himself Credit: Shutterstock 12 Linda credits third husband George Ceasar, who died from cancer in 2015, with encouraging her to write Credit: Supplied 'I think she felt that way because until that point she thought she was going to walk away and Fred would take the rap for their crimes.' Besides being 'rather thick', Linda thought Rose was 'very drab, dry and very old fashioned' and the only positive thing about her was that she was a very talented seamstress. And while she gave off a meek persona, claiming to have been bent to evil under duress from Fred, there were a few times where the monster's mask slipped. Once was during a prison session with a university lecturer, who encouraged inmates to debate stories in the newspaper. The one they chose was about a drunk driver who ran over a cyclist, killing him, which Linda says left Rose so enraged she was 'foaming at the mouth'. 'She was hysterical, absolutely enraged and yelled, 'He should be hanged! That poor cyclist'. While yes, it was terrible, that was coming from a mass murderer. 'She started foaming at the mouth, it looked like toothpaste and we were transfixed by this gross white gunk coming out of her mouth. That's when the debate ended.' Another outburst followed an arsonist setting fire to her cell, which nearly killed her pet budgie, who was left covered in black soot. He was always proposing. He didn't write love letters, he would just say, 'I was thinking, if you'd like to marry me the offer is still there' Linda on notorious lag Linda recalls: 'Rose was hysterical, 'How could anyone be so evil to set fire to a cell and leave a bird in there' she yelled. She begged the guards to save it. 'It was given to another inmate to nurse back to health. After that, she went and lay on her bed for two days straight. She didn't get off it until the budgie was better.' Serial proposers In another surprising twist, Linda found herself on the receiving end of affection from two notorious prisoners - mobster Reggie Kray and violent lag Charles Bronson. The former, she tells us, would call her every week from prison, lavished her with gifts and once proposed before telling her 'forget I said anything' after she turned him down. Meanwhile Bronson popped the question 'probably every three months and at least 14 times' in letters as well as sending her photos. The lag, who has nearly served 50 years behind bars, contacted her claiming he knew some of her friends and said 'what a lovely person I was'. 'Due to being in prison for so long, he didn't have a lot to chat about so would ask me questions like, 'How are you?', 'Any family visits?' and that kind of thing. 12 Charles Bronson bombarded Linda with proposals Credit: SWNS:South West News Service 12 Reggie Kray (left) also tried to woo the bank robber Credit: Getty 'Then all of a sudden, 'Would you like to marry me?' I said, 'I don't think it's a good idea'. He said 'That's ok' and then three months later, was like, 'Would you like to marry me?' again. 'He was always proposing. He didn't write love letters, he would just say, 'I was thinking, if you'd like to marry me the offer is still there.' Although Bronson was originally jailed for petty crime and robbery, his attacks on fellow inmates and prison officers have seen his sentences extended to total five decades. 'I feel sorry for him, that he's still in prison. It's a shame when you put it into context. Everyone assumes he murdered someone but he didn't," says Linda. 'He just drove authorities mad for so many years with his antics. What he did wasn't that big and he's been in there forever.' Linda, who was released on parole in 2008, has put criminality firmly behind her and dedicated her life to her family and writing - she's published two memoirs and is about to release her fourth novel. Titled Hope, it's about three generations of women caught in the grips of London's murky underworld and many of the characters are loosely based on crooks she met. 'It's a world I came from, which makes it more real, and some characters are based on women I knew and met in prison,' she says. 'It was my late husband, George, who died from cancer nine years ago, that inspired me. He told me, 'Linda, go for it. Do your writing'. I've found my niche and I know I'm making him proud.' Hope, the second in a crime gangster trilogy, is published by Mountain Leopard Press on July 17. To preorder, visit here
