Biggs 'proud of train robbery'

Notorious criminal Ronnie Biggs says he's proud to have been part of the Great Train Robbery, 50 years on from the crime.

Biggs 'proud of train robbery'

UK's notorious criminal Ronnie Biggs says he's proud to have been part of the Great Train Robbery.

Fifty years after the world famous Great Train Robbery, notorious criminal Ronnie Biggs is proud to have been part of the gang, he says.

August 8 marks the 50th anniversary since a gang of robbers, masterminded by Bruce Reynolds, stopped the Glasgow-Euston overnight mail train in the biggest robbery of its time.

Many of the gang have now died, but half a century on from the crime, Ronnie Biggs will celebrate his 84th birthday.

The famous fugitive, who escaped from prison in 1965, spent 36 years on the run before finally being arrested and jailed in 2001.

Released from prison on compassionate grounds in 2009 due to ill health he is still alive, being cared for in a north London nursing home.

And he has few regrets about the crime that made him a household name, he said on Saturday.

Biggs, who cannot speak and communicates through a spelling board, said: "If you want to ask me if I have any regrets about being one of the train robbers, my answer is, 'No!'.

"I will go further: I am proud to have been one of them. I am equally happy to be described as the 'tea-boy' or 'The Brain'.

"I was there that August night and that is what counts. I am one of the few witnesses - living or dead - to what was 'The Crime of the Century'."

But although he is proud to have been involved in the headline-grabbing crime, he admitted he does have some regrets.

"It is regrettable, as I have said many times, that the train driver was injured," he said. "And he was not the only victim.

"The people who paid the heaviest price for the Great Train Robbery are the families. The families of everyone involved in the Great Train Robbery, and from both sides of the track.

"All have paid a price for our collective involvement in the robbery. A very heavy price, in the case of my family.

"For that, I do have my regrets."

A new book has been published to mark the 50th anniversary - The Great Train Robbery - 50th Anniversary - 1963-2103, said to explain first-hand the complete story of the robbery.

Both Biggs and Reynolds, who died in February, contributed to the book, which has been written by Reynolds' son Nick, along with Biggs' autobiographer Chris Pickard.

Reynolds said the book was an aim at putting right any inaccuracies in a tale that has become folklore.

"We just thought we'd put the record straight."

He said although his father regretted the injuries suffered by train driver Jack Mills, he too had few regrets about the crime he had planned.

"My dad said if he was alive today and if he was asked would he have done it today knowing everything if he was the same age, yes he would have done.

"He was a bit of a crazy adventurer if you like."


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Source: AAP



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