Gangster Ronnie Kray says he regrets his life of crime in never-before-heard audio recorded while the ‘reformed’ hardman was locked up in HMP Broadmoor.
The East End crime boss warns children not to follow in his and his brother Reggie’s footsteps because it will only bring them a ‘life of misery’ in audio recorded in the 1980s.
The interview with Ronnie was recorded by seasoned broadcaster Fred Dinenage for his official Kray Twins book, Our Story.
The recordings were unearthed in the TV journalist’s attic, where they had been since Fred’s visit to Broadmoor four decades ago.
His tapes were almost lost forever as Dinenage’s two daughters, one of whom is MP Caroline Dinenage, nearly taped over them.
Fearsome Ronnie and Reggie ran organised crime in London’s East End during the 1950s and 1960s before they were jailed separately in 1969 and then both moved to Parkhurst maximum security prison in the early 1970s.
Ronnie’s deteriorating mental health meant he was later transferred to Broadmoor Prison, where Dinenage frequently met him throughout the 1980s as the notorious pair’s official biographer.
Ronnie’s instantly recognisable voice can be heard telling youngsters not to turn to a life of crime, pointing at how it turned out for him and his brother.
In it, Ronnie said, ‘Many people who have read our books may think we’ve had a glamorous life, but I advise any young people today not to get into any trouble because it will only bring them a life of misery.
‘I hope people will look again at Broadmoor and the people who are here.
‘I have also made the governor look again at my brother Reg, who has been like this for more than 25 years; it’s time he had justice.
‘Good luck to you, and thank you for your support. I wish I could be with you.
‘One day, with any luck I will be, all the best, Ron Kray.’
Dinenage, an ITV presenter who retired after 60 years in the business, claims to be the only person the twins trusted to recount their story since he was their official biographer.
He released Our Story in 1988 after gaining unparalleled access to the twins, and five years later, he wrote My Story, which is about Ronnie.
Dinenage is now going on tour at theatres in the UK with his show ‘Ronnie, Reggie, and Me with Fred Dinenage’, talking about his time with the nefarious duo.
There was honour among thieves in those days. Women, children, and the elderly were sacrosanct. Today, ignorant yobs will machete you for a couple of quid. Not that I’m glamourising it. Crime is crime, period! But let’s face it, you were safe if you were a pensioner or a vulnerable person with the twins around. Mind you, I’m not sure if I would have let them babysit my grandchildren.
We could use them right now to clean up London, and in a bizarrely unorthodox way, I agree with this because I would rather have the Krays than some Albanian gangsters.
However, they’d mellowed with age; we all do because we just want some peace. Fred Dineage got to meet them a lot later on in their lives, not during their heyday.
Looking at Great Britain now, I dread to wonder what it will be like in another 50 years. However, I won’t be around to see it, but my children and grandchildren will, and I do worry about what will become of them.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 