Charles Bronson: Public parole hearing due for notorious prisoner

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Charles Bronson, who uses the name Charles Salvador, was first jailed in 1974

A public Parole Board hearing for Charles Bronson is due to take place in early March. A panel will decide whether the 70-year-old, who is one of the UK's longest serving prisoners, is fit for release. So who is Bronson and why has he been in prison for so long?

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Bronson has had a film made about him and several books have been published during his time in prison

The notorious prisoner was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, in December 1952 as Michael Peterson.

He was convicted of armed robbery in 1974 and earned a reputation as a violent and dangerous inmate.

The former bare-knuckle boxer changed his name to Charles Bronson during a brief spell of freedom in the 1980s, but now uses the name Charles Salvador.

He chose the name as a homage to the Spanish artist Salvador Dali.

Image source, JP Humbert auctioneers

Inside Front, the last artwork he produced under the name Charles Bronson, sold for about £1,000

While in prison, Bronson has created a number of artworks and many have been sold, with some proceeds donated to charity.

In 2014, a sale of 200 of his pieces raised more than £30,000 at auction.

He has had several books published, including ones about his prison fitness regime and his time at Broadmoor Hospital.

A film starring Tom Hardy, released in 2009, also dramatised Bronson's time in prison.

Image source, Getty Images

He was last released from prison in 1987, but returned not long after due to robbing a jewellery shop

Bronson was first jailed aged 22 in 1974 for armed robbery and wounding.

Since then he has only had brief spells out of prison and is believed to spend much of his time in solitary confinement.

He has become notorious for attacks on prison staff and other inmates.

In 1975 he attacked a fellow prisoner with a glass jug and in 1985 he carried out a three-day rooftop protest.

In 1994, Bronson held a prison librarian hostage and demanded an inflatable doll, a helicopter and a cup of tea as ransom.

Four years later, he took three inmates hostage at Belmarsh Prison in London.

Then 12 months on, he took a prison education worker hostage for 44 hours at HMP Hull and was sentenced to a discretionary life term, with a minimum of four years.

Image source, PA

A hearing in 2017 refused Bronson parole

He received a further two-year jail term in 2014 for holding a prison governor in a headlock at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.

In 2017 he was refused parole while an inmate at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire.

During his trial, Bronson admitted he had been a "very nasty man" in the past, as he described to the jury how during his time in prison he had held 11 hostages in nine different sieges - including governors, doctors, staff and, on one occasion, his solicitor.

In 2020 Bronson won a court case arguing for a public parole hearing and in 2022, rules were changed to allow such hearings to take place.

In December, the first public hearing occurred. It was regarding Russell Causley, who murdered his wife Carole Packman in Bournemouth in 1985.

The board decided Causley was fit for release and he has since been freed.

Bronson's hearing is due to take place on 6 and 8 March at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

The Parole Board's duty will be to decide whether Bronson presents a danger to others. If the risks are deemed low, he could be released on a life licence.

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