Notorious prisoner Charles Bronson has described himself as a “retired prison activist” but told his parole hearing he loves a “rumble”. Making his latest bid for freedom on Monday, one of the UK’s longest-serving prisoners told a panel of Parole Board judges he is now anti-violence and “almost an angel now” compared with his old self.
But despite insisting he now has ways of managing negative feelings and has turned to art, the 70-year-old – who was once dubbed one of Britain’s most violent offenders – said: “I was born to have a rumble.” Bronson has spent most of the past 48 years behind bars, apart from two brief periods of freedom during which he reoffended, for a string of thefts, firearms and violent offences.
Appearing on camera wearing a black suit and tie, a white shirt, braces and dark glasses, Bronson – who changed his surname to Salvador in 2014 and whose real name is Michael Peterson – claimed he had been betting for much of the last 50 years while behind bars and won £1,500 last year. His parole review took place at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes and was watched by members of the press and public on a live stream from the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
