Ronnie Biggs

Ronnie Biggs
Status	Incarcerated
Occupation(s)	Carpenter, criminal, fugitive
Spouse	Charmian Brent (m. 1960, div.?) Raimunda de Castro (m. March 10, 2002)
Children	Nicholas (deceased), Christopher, Farley Paul, Michael
Criminal charge	Train Robbery
Penalty	30 years in prison

Ronnie Biggs (Ronald Arthur Biggs, born August 8, 1929) is a convicted criminal; an English prisoner who is known for escaping from prison after his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963 and for being on the run for many years. He lived in Brazil for 31 years, but voluntarily returned to England in 2001.

Great Train Robbery

Biggs was born in the London Borough of Lambeth, England. In 1947, at age 18 he joined the RAF but was dishonorably discharged in 1949 for desertion and served two years. In 1960 he married Charmian Brent, with whom he had three sons (one deceased). Biggs is infamous for the Great Train Robbery of 1963. Together with other gang members, he stole £2.6 million from a mail train. After being convicted and jailed, he escaped from HM Prison Wandsworth on 7 July 1965 by scaling the wall with a rope ladder. He fled to Paris, where he acquired new identity papers and underwent plastic surgery.

Australia

In late 1965 Biggs arrived in Sydney on a BOAC flight where he lived for several months before moving to Adelaide, South Australia in 1966. He was soon joined by his wife and two children. In 1967, just after their third child was born, Biggs received an anonymous letter from England telling him that Interpol suspected that he was in Australia and that he should relocate. In May 1967 the family moved to Melbourne, Victoria where he rented a house in the suburb of Blackburn North. In Melbourne, he undertook a number of jobs before undertaking set construction work at the Channel 9 TV studios. In October 1969 a newspaper report by a Reuters correspondent claimed that Biggs was living in Melbourne, and that police were closing in on him. The story then led the 6 o'clock news at Channel 9 so he immediately fled his home, staying with family friends in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne. Five months later Biggs fled on a passenger liner from the Port of Melbourne using a doctored passport of his friend. Biggs's wife and sons stayed behind in Australia. Twenty days later the ship berthed in Panama. Biggs disembarked and within two weeks flew to Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro

In 1971, Biggs' eldest son Nicky died aged 10 in a car crash.

In 1974, Daily Express reporter Colin MacKenzie received information suggesting that Biggs was in Rio de Janeiro, and a team consisting of MacKenzie, photographer Bill Lovelace and reporter Michael O'Flaherty confirmed this and broke the story. Scotland Yard detectives arrived soon afterwards, but Biggs could not be extradited because the United Kingdom did not benefit from reciprocity of extradition to Brazil, a condition for the Brazilian process of extradition. Additionally, Biggs's then girlfriend (Raimunda de Castro, a nightclub dancer and alleged prostitute) was pregnant; Brazilian law would not allow the parent of a Brazilian child to be expelled. As a result, Biggs was able to live openly in Brazil, completely untouchable by the British authorities. While his status as a felon prevented Biggs from working, there was nothing to stop him profiting from Scotland Yard's misfortune. As a result, "Ronnie Biggs" mugs, coffee cups and T-shirts suddenly started to appear in tourist traps throughout Rio.

He spent the next three decades as a fugitive and became something of a celebrity, despite having been a rather minor figure in the actual robbery.

Supposedly, Biggs returned to England several times during the making of a documentary about the Great Train Robbery, always in disguise. He also recorded vocals on two songs for The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, Julien Temple's film about the Sex Pistols. The basic tracks for "No One is Innocent" (aka "The Biggest Blow (A Punk Prayer)") and "Belsen Was a Gas" were recorded with guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook at a studio in Brazil shortly after the Sex Pistols' final performance, with overdubs being added in an English studio at a later date. "No One is Innocent" was released as a single in the UK and reached #6 on the British singles charts, the sleeve showing Martin Bormann playing bass with the group (in fact this was American actor James Jeter).

Following the extradition attempt, Biggs collaborated with Bruce Henry (an American double-bass player), Jaime Shields and Aureo de Souza to record Mailbag Blues, a musical narrative of his life that he intended to use as a movie soundtrack. This album was re-released in 2004 by whatmusic.com.

In 1981, Biggs was kidnapped and smuggled into Barbados. The kidnappers hoped to collect a reward from the British police, but Barbados had no extradition treaty with the United Kingdom and Biggs was sent back to Brazil. In February 2006, Channel 4 aired a documentary featuring dramatisations of the attempted kidnap and interviews with John Miller, an ex-British Army soldier who carried it out. The team was headed by security consultant Patrick King. In the documentary, King claims that the kidnapping may have in fact been a deniable operation.

Biggs's son by de Castro, Michael Biggs, eventually became a member of the successful band Turma do Balão Mágico, bringing a new source of income to his father. In a short time, however, the band faded into obscurity and dissolved, leaving father and son in relatively dire straits again.

In 1991, Biggs sang vocals for the song "Carnival In Rio (Punk Was)" by German punk band Die Toten Hosen.

In 1993, Biggs sang vocals in 3 tracks for the album "Bajo otra bandera" by Argentinian punk band Pilsen.

Return to the UK

In 2001 Biggs announced to The Sun that he would be willing to return to the UK. Biggs was fully aware that he would be detained upon arrival in England. Even so, he returned voluntarily on May 7, 2001, and was immediately arrested and re-imprisoned. His trip back to England on a private jet was paid for by The Sun, which reportedly paid Michael Biggs £20,000 plus other expenses in return for exclusive rights on the news story. Ronald Biggs had 28 years of his sentence left to serve. Since his return he has undergone a number of health scares, including two heart attacks, and has failed to get his sentence overturned or reduced.

His son said in a press release that contrary to some press reports, Biggs has not returned to the UK simply to receive health care. Health care was available in Brazil and he had many friends and supporters who would certainly have contributed to any such expenses. Biggs's stated desire was to "walk into a Margate pub as an Englishman and buy a pint of bitter".

On November 14, 2001, Biggs petitioned Governor Hynd of HMP Belmarsh for early release on compassionate grounds based on his poor health. He had been treated four times at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich in less than six months. His health was deteriorating rapidly and he asked to be released into the care of his son for his remaining days. The application was denied.

On August 10, 2005, it was reported that Biggs had contracted MRSA. His lawyers, seeking for his release on grounds of compassion, said that their client's death was likely to be imminent.

On October 26, 2005, the Home Secretary Charles Clarke declined his appeal stating that his illness is not deemed terminal. Home Office compassion policy is to release prisoners with three months left to live. Biggs continues to need a tube for feeding and has difficulty speaking.

On July 4, 2007, Biggs was moved from Belmarsh prison to Norwich prison on "compassionate grounds".

In December 2007, Biggs issued a further appeal, from Norwich prison, asking to be released from jail to die with his family: "I am an old man and often wonder if I truly deserve the extent of my punishment. I have accepted it and only want freedom to die with my family and not in jail. I hope Mr Straw decides to allow me to do that. I have been in jail for a long timeand I want to die a free man. I am sorry for what happened. It has not been an easy ride over the years. Even in Brazil I was a prisoner of my own making."

In January 2009, after a series of strokes which had the result that he could not speak or walk, it was claimed in the press that Biggs was to be released in August 2009 and would die a 'free man'. His son Michael Biggs has also claimed that the Parole Board might bring the release date forward to July 2009.

On 13 February 2009, it was reported that Biggs had been taken to hospital from his cell at Norwich Prison suffering from pneumonia. This was confirmed the following day by his son Michael, who said Biggs had serious pneumonia but was stable. News of his condition prompted fresh calls for his release on compassionate grounds.

On April 23 it emerged that the Parole Board had recommended that Biggs be released on 4 July, having served only a third of his 30 year sentence. However, on 1 July the Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw did not accept the Parole Board's recommendation and refused parole, stating that Biggs was 'wholly unrepentant'..

Further information

• Guardian photo gallery of Biggs
• The Legend of Ronnie Biggs (UK Five 2 x 50 minute documentary 2003)