Notorious prisoner Charles Bronson has appeared at a public parole hearing as he makes his latest bid to be freed from jail.
The Parole Board review of one of the UK’s longest-serving prisoners to decide whether he should remain behind bars began on Monday morning, making him the second inmate in UK legal history to have his case heard in public.
Members of the press and public are watching the proceedings – taking place in HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes – on a live stream from the Royal Courts of Justice in central London.
Dubbed one of Britain’s most violent offenders, Bronson – who changed his surname to Salvador in 2014 after the artist Salvador Dali – appeared on camera sat opposite a panel of parole judges wearing a black suit, white shirt and dark glasses.
When asked if he wished to give evidence at the hearing, the 70-year-old said: “Oh yes, certainly.”
Outlining Bronson’s criminal history as the hearing opened, the chairman of the Parole Board panel – who was not publicly named – said Bronson has spent most of the past 48 years behind bars, apart from two brief periods of freedom where he reoffended.
In a Channel 4 programme which aired last week, Bronson said he can “smell and taste freedom” ahead of the parole hearing.
The parole panel chairman told the hearing: “The panel has not seen that documentary.”
But Bronson replied: “I find that hard to believe.”
He could also be heard frequently swearing and sighing loudly as the hearing the began.
At one point he muttered “f****** hell” under his breath as the review heard how submissions on behalf of Justice Secretary Dominic Raab had been delayed and could not be provided in advance of the proceedings to the parole board as a result. A representative for Mr Raab who was present at the hearing apologised for the delays.
On the sometimes grainy live stream footage Bronson, who had been sipping what appeared to be a small carton of juice through a straw, was seen briefly standing up during the hearing and began asking for a tissue.
“I haven’t pissed myself,” he told the hearing as he placed the tissue under the juice carton and sat back down.
Amid long pauses while the panel asked his prisoner offender manager questions, Bronson said: “We will be here all f****** day, won’t we?”
