Charles Bronson would not cope with release, parole panel told

Charles Bronson, who uses the name Charles Salvador, has had parole refused at previous hearings

Charles Bronson, one of the UK's longest-serving prisoners, would not cope with being released, a Parole Board panel has heard.

The 70-year-old, one of the UK's most violent offenders, has been in prison for much of the last 50 years.

He told the panel he had had "more porridge than Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and I'm sick of it".

The first witness, his prison offender manager, said Bronson would not have the skills to cope on the outside.

The panel heard that he spends 23 hours a day in his cell and only associates with three other inmates who he does not get on with.

Shaven-headed Bronson was wearing a suit and small round sunglasses.

When asked to give evidence, he spoke for about 10 minutes.

'Very naughty'

"First of all," he said. "It's no secret. I have had more porridge than Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and I'm sick of it.

"I've had enough of it and I want to go home.

"Of the 50 years I have been in prison I have probably deserved a good 35 of it.

"Because I have been very naughty. Not naughty-naughty but just naughty.

"I have had 11 hostages. I am not proud of it but I am not ashamed of it," he said.

Charles Bronson told the parole hearing: "I want to go home"

Bronson told the hearing he was now able to control his emotions.

"I was battling against the system. It was my way of getting back and there's nothing like wrapping a governor up like a Christmas turkey.

"I have come to the stage of me life now… where I am going out with a bus pass," he said.

"I have slept in body belts, I have slept in strait-jackets. But how much longer have I got to go?

"I'm ready now, I'm a chilled-out man, I feel comfortable in myself.

"I handle situations 100 times better than I used to."

Bronson added he was "no longer angry", was "a born-again artist" and said it was his "mum's last dream" for him to be released.

'Fought with a Rottweiler'

The prisoner - who now uses the last name Salvador - is being held at a specialist close supervision centre at Woodhill Prison in Milton Keynes.

This is only the second Parole Board hearing ever to be held in public, but this one has a far higher profile than the first..

Members of the press and public filled Court 76 at the Royal Courts of Justice to watch the hearing on a live video link.

When Bronson was told the Parole Board panel hearing the case had not watched a recently-broadcast television documentary about him, he replied: "I find that hard to believe."

The panel also heard about his brief time as an unlicensed boxer, of which Bronson said: "I had six fights. Five with men and one with a Rottweiler."

"I was strong, thick, fast. The only way you could knock me out was with an axe in the back of me head."

'Greased up with Lurpak'

When questioned about several incidents behind bars a few years ago and why they happened, Bronson said: "I love a rumble. What man doesn't?"

The Parole Board heard he "took half a tub of Lurpak" and "greased up" after stripping naked in his cell.

"You have to grow up sooner or later," he added.

Speaking of what he would like to do, if released, he said: "I dream of walking on grass, you know.

"I'd like to go to see art shows; I'd like to go swimming."

He continued: "Give me a chance, a break, to prove to you people that I am just a normal geezer wanting to get on with his life."

Shortly after the proceedings started, he spilled some liquid over himself while drinking from a carton.

He told the panel he had not wet himself, but used stronger language, and later swore and said "we'll be all day" when his prison offender manager paused while giving evidence.

The offender manager said Bronson's ability to control his emotions had improved and he had fewer outbursts.

"There's been no violence. There has been some flexibility with his thinking and willingness to engage," she said.  

'I'm getting bored mate'

She was asked what would happen if Bronson was released from prison. 

"He would struggle in the community. He wouldn't have the skills to cope with such a vast change so quickly," she said. 

Asked if Bronson was ready for "open" prison conditions, she replied: "I think he still has a way to go."

The panel heard Bronson was allowed out of his cell for about an hour a day.

He would come out to collect his food and go to the yard or the gym, or walk along the balcony.

While in his cell for the remaining 23 hours, he would listen to the radio or create artwork.

The panel was told he received mail from more than 500 people. A panel member asked the prisoner offender manager if Bronson replied to them all.

"Bloody hell, I can't reply to all of them," Bronson interrupted.

After about an hour of proceedings, Bronson said: "I'm getting bored mate."

Who is Charles Bronson?

• Real name is Michael Gordon Peterson

• Originally from Luton, he was convicted of armed robbery in 1974, aged 21, and apart from a couple of brief spells of freedom, he has been in prison ever since

• Changed his name to Charles Bronson in 1987; most of his notoriety came after that moment

• Took an art teacher hostage in 1999, for which he received a life sentence

• In 2014, he changed his name, again, to Charles Salvador

• Most recent conviction was in 2014, for assaulting a prison governor.

• Prison record also details an alleged attempt to commit an assault against a governor at Frankland prison in Durham in April 2018 because of a withheld photo of his mother

• Allegedly made threats to a governor at the same prison in February 2019, and to a governor at Woodhill Prison the following month

The Parole Board panel is deciding whether he is still a risk to the public, or whether he can be released from prison.

If they decide against releasing him they are also being asked to consider allowing Bronson to be moved to "open" prison conditions, where he would have much more freedom.

The hearing resumes on Wednesday.