Harry Roberts (criminal)

Last updated

Harry Roberts
Born (1936-07-21) 21 July 1936 (age 87)
Wanstead, Essex, England [1]
Other namesRonald Ernest Hall [1]
Occupation Carpenter [2]
Criminal statusReleased on lifelong licence
Parent(s)Harry Roberts
Dorothy Roberts [3]
Conviction(s) Murder
Criminal penalty Life imprisonment

Harry Maurice Roberts (born 21 July 1936) is an English career criminal and murderer who in 1966 instigated the Shepherd's Bush murders, in which three police officers were shot dead in London. [4] The murders took place after plainclothes officers approached a Standard Vanguard estate car, [5] in which Roberts and two other men were sitting in Braybrook Street near Wormwood Scrubs prison in London. Roberts feared the officers would discover firearms his gang were planning to use in a robbery.[ citation needed ] He killed two, while one of his accomplices shot dead the third.[ citation needed ]

Contents

After Roberts had spent nearly 48 years in prison, in 2014 the Parole Board for England and Wales approved his release, at the age of 78. Having far exceeded his minimum term of 30 years, he was one of the United Kingdom's longest-serving prisoners, having remained in custody since 1966. His release was controversial due to the nature of his crime.

Early life

Roberts was born in Wanstead, then part of Essex, on 21 July 1936 where his parents ran The George public house. [3] [1] As a child he became involved in crime by helping his mother sell stolen goods on the black market. Roberts later described how the family owned a café in north London where his mother was "...selling on mostly food—tea and sugar—and sometimes ration books. Anything she could get her hands on".

In his late teens, Roberts was sentenced to detention after using an iron bar to attack a shopkeeper during a robbery. [6] [7] Roberts served a 19-month sentence inside Gaynes Hall borstal, and was released in January 1956. [6]

One week after leaving the borstal, Roberts was called up for national service and joined the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), with whom he saw action during the Mau Mau uprising and Malayan Emergency. [6] [8] [9] Of his service in the jungle he said that this was where he learned to kill and that he had "personally killed at least four". Roberts has claimed that he reached the rank of sergeant while in the Army although others have given his rank as lance corporal. [7] Journalist and former armed robber John McVicar said that Roberts "gloated" about his killings while in prison, and had "acquired a taste for killing prisoners [of war] on the orders of his officers" in the Army. [10]

After leaving the Army, Roberts returned to his criminal activities, and in partnership with Jack Witney carried out "dozens" of armed robberies, targeting bookmakers, post offices and banks. He said, "The most I earned was £1,000 from a single job. Witney was the eldest, the boss: he knew the best places to rob. [John] Duddy joined us later." [7] In 1959 Roberts and an accomplice posed as tax inspectors to gain entry into the home of an elderly man. The man was bound, robbed, and beaten about the head with a glass decanter. Roberts was arrested, and at his trial the judge, His Honour Judge Maude QC, said, "You are a brutal thug. You came very near the rope this time. It is to be hoped you do not appear before us again." Roberts received a sentence of seven years. [11]

Shepherd's Bush murders

Following the shootings of 41-year-old Police Constable Geoffrey Fox, Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, aged 30, and 25-year-old Temporary Detective Constable David Wombwell in Shepherd's Bush, West London, to avoid capture Roberts used a tent to hide in Thorley Wood near Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, until the winter set in and he moved inside farm buildings. He was familiar with the area from visits there as a child. [12] A £1,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. Roberts used his military training to evade capture for ninety-six days, but was finally caught by police while sleeping rough in a disused airfield hangar on Blount's Farm, Sawbridgeworth, near Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire.[ citation needed ]

Trial and imprisonment

Roberts was convicted of all three murders and sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 30 years. [13] The murders occurred just eight months after the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 suspended the death penalty in England, Wales and Scotland and substituted a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. While in prison, Roberts made several attempts to escape.[ citation needed ]

In 2001, Roberts was moved to an open prison. Roberts was returned to a closed prison within months after allegations that he was involved in drug dealing and contraband smuggling. [14] Author Kate Kray, who interviewed Roberts for her book Natural Born Killers (1999, ISBN   1857823826), said that he has no remorse for his victims and recreates the murders in art and pastry decorations, making apple pies and decorating them with pastry cut-outs of policemen being shot. Kray said that he also produces "precisely drawn and coloured" paintings depicting someone shooting a policeman. [15]

Appeals

In 2005, Roberts failed in his appeal to the House of Lords over the use of secret evidence to keep him in prison.[ citation needed ] The evidence had been obtained by tapping private phone calls between Roberts and his solicitor.[ citation needed ] The material was then introduced as evidence at his parole hearings.

In September 2006, 70-year-old Roberts applied for a judicial review over apparent delays by the parole board in reaching a decision to free him by the end of the year. In December 2006, he was again turned down for parole. [16] On 29 June 2007, he was given leave to seek a High Court judicial review over his failed parole bid, with the judge saying his case "was of great public interest." [17]

It was reported in February 2009 that Roberts hoped to be freed from prison within months, having already served 42 years in jail and completing the first stage of a parole board hearing; he believed this would pave the way for his release. Roberts hoped a final hearing would find that at the age of 72 he was no longer a risk to the public and that the parole board would order his immediate release. At this time he had already served 12 years more than the minimum term recommended by his trial judge who at the time of sentencing told Roberts that it was unlikely that any future Home Secretary would "ever think fit to show mercy by releasing you on licence... This is one of those cases in which the sentence of imprisonment for 'life' may well be treated as meaning exactly what it says". [18] It was recognised that government ministers were concerned that any decision on the matter would provoke public fury and that Roberts' safety might be put at risk but the parole board would nonetheless be powerless to halt the release.[ citation needed ]

Supporters of Roberts had previously claimed that successive Home Secretaries have blocked his release for political reasons because of fears of a public backlash. Peter Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said that there would be widespread anger among serving and former officers. Legal sources said they believed that the parole board was likely to recommend that he was eligible for an open prison as a way of preparing him for release. Jack Straw, the former Justice Secretary, retained the power to reject a parole board recommendation that Roberts be moved to an open prison but he could not block a decision by the board to order his release. [19]

In April 2009, it was alleged by the owners of an animal sanctuary where Roberts was working on day release, that he made violent threats to them. [20]

In October 2014 the Parole Board for England and Wales approved his release at an unspecified later date. [21] Roberts was released on 11 November 2014 after serving 48 years in prison (from 15 November 1966)... [22] He was 78 years old.

Cultural impact

Roberts has become a cultural figure among anarchists and football hooligans, with the chant "Harry Roberts is our friend, is our friend, is our friend. Harry Roberts is our friend, he kills coppers. Let him out to kill some more, kill some more, kill some more, let him out to kill some more, Harry Roberts" as well as "He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush. He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, our mate Harry" (to the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down"), [23] [24] [25] [26] which originated with groups of young people outside Shepherd's Bush police station after Roberts had been arrested. [27]

There have been artistic representations of Roberts. The character of Billy Porter in the 2001 novel He Kills Coppers by Jake Arnott, and the 2008 TV adaptation, is based on Roberts. [25]

In the song "Happiness is Just a Chant Away," Chumbawamba sing the tune of the Hare Krishna mantra with the words replaced with "Harry Roberts." [28] The band also recorded a single dedicated to him titled "Hat Trick for Harry," but it was never released. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark David Chapman</span> American convicted murderer

Mark David Chapman is an American man who murdered English musician John Lennon in New York City on December 8, 1980. As Lennon walked into the archway of The Dakota, his apartment building on the Upper West Side, Chapman fired five shots at the musician from a few yards away with a Charter Arms Undercover .38 Special revolver. Lennon was hit four times from the back. He was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival. Chapman remained at the scene following the shooting and made no attempt to flee or resist arrest.

Lee Boyd Malvo, also known as John Lee Malvo, is a Jamaican convicted murderer who, along with John Allen Muhammad, committed a series of murders dubbed the D.C. sniper attacks over a three-week period in October 2002. Malvo was aged 17 during the span of the shootings. He is serving multiple life sentences at Red Onion State Prison in Virginia, a supermax prison.

Anthony Edward Martin is a farmer from Norfolk, England, who shot a burglar dead in his home in August 1999. There was some sympathy for Martin from people who enthusiastically supported the right to defend one's own home. However, prosecutors cast doubt on his evidence and pointed out that he did not have a valid firearms certificate. Martin was convicted of murder, later reduced to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility and served three years in prison, having been denied parole.

A thrill killing is premeditated or random murder that is motivated by the sheer excitement of the act. While there have been attempts to categorize multiple murders, such as identifying "thrill killing" as a type of "hedonistic mass killing", actual details of events frequently overlap category definitions making attempts at such distinctions problematic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Pitchfork</span> British child-murderer and rapist

Colin Pitchfork is a British double child-murderer and rapist. He was the first person convicted of rape and murder using DNA profiling after he murdered two girls in neighbouring Leicestershire villages: Lynda Mann in Narborough in November 1983, and Dawn Ashworth in Enderby in July 1986. He was arrested on 19 September 1987 and was sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 January 1988 after pleading guilty to both murders, with the judge giving him a 30-year minimum term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shepherd's Bush murders</span> 1966 murder

The Shepherd's Bush murders, also known as the Massacre of Braybrook Street, involved the murder of three police officers in London by Harry Roberts, John Duddy and John Witney in 1966.

Kenneth James Noye is an English criminal most recently on licence from a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder of Stephen Cameron during a road rage incident while on licence from prison in 1996. He was arrested in Spain two years after the crime and convicted four years later.

<i>The Onion Field</i> 1973 nonfiction book by Joseph Wambaugh

The Onion Field is a 1973 nonfiction book by Joseph Wambaugh, a sergeant for the Los Angeles Police Department, chronicling the kidnapping of two plainclothes LAPD officers by a pair of criminals during a traffic stop and the subsequent murder of one of the officers.

In England and Wales, life imprisonment is a sentence that lasts until the death of the prisoner, although in most cases the prisoner will be eligible for parole after a minimum term set by the judge. In exceptional cases a judge may impose a "whole life order", meaning that the offender is never considered for parole, although they may still be released on compassionate grounds at the discretion of the Home Secretary. Whole life orders are usually imposed for aggravated murder, and can only be imposed where the offender was at least 21 years old at the time of the offence being committed.

The Richardson Gang was an English crime gang based in South London, England in the 1960s. Also known as the "Torture Gang", they had a reputation as some of London's most sadistic gangsters. Their alleged specialities included pulling teeth out using pliers, cutting off toes using bolt cutters and nailing victims to floors using 6-inch nails.

The Parole Board of Canada is the Canadian government agency that is responsible for reviewing and issuing parole and criminal pardons in Canada. It operates under the auspices of Public Safety Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert O. Marshall</span> American businessman and criminal (1939–2015)

Robert Oakley Marshall was an American businessman who in 1984 was charged with the contract killing of his wife Maria.

George Cornell was an English criminal and member of The Richardsons, who were scrap metal dealers and criminals from South London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth McDuff</span> American serial killer

Kenneth Allen McDuff was an American serial killer from Texas. In 1966, McDuff and an accomplice kidnapped and murdered three teenagers who were visiting from California. He was given three death sentences for these crimes but avoided execution after the 1972 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Furman v. Georgia. He was resentenced to life and was paroled in 1989. Between October 1989 and March 1992, McDuff raped and killed at least six women, receiving another death sentence and was later executed in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David and Catherine Birnie</span> Australian couple convicted of four murders

David John Birnie and Catherine Margaret Birnie were an Australian couple from Perth who murdered four women at their home in 1986, also attempting to murder a fifth. These crimes were referred to in the press as the Moorhouse murders, after the Birnies' address at 3 Moorhouse Street in Willagee, a suburb of Perth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sirhan Sirhan</span> Assassin of Robert F. Kennedy (born 1944)

Sirhan Bishara Sirhan is a Palestinian-Jordanian man who was convicted of assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy Sr., a younger brother of American president John F. Kennedy and a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 1968 United States presidential election. On June 5, 1968, Sirhan shot and mortally wounded Robert Kennedy shortly after midnight at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles; Kennedy died the next day at Good Samaritan Hospital. The circumstances surrounding the attack, which took place five years after his brother's assassination, have led to numerous conspiracy theories.

Thomas Trantino is an American convicted murderer who was sentenced to life in prison for the execution style shooting deaths in 1963 of two police officers in Lodi, New Jersey. He was sentenced to death by electrocution, which was commuted to life in prison after capital punishment was suspended in the 1970s. This began a long battle for parole, which continued until his release from prison in 2002.

Sidney Charles Cooke is an English convicted child molester, murderer and suspected serial killer serving two life sentences. He was the leader of a paedophile ring suspected of up to twenty child murders of young boys in the 1970s and 1980s. Cooke and other members of the ring were convicted of three killings in total, although he was only convicted of one himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Calvey</span> British author and murderer (born 1948)

Linda Calvey is an English author. Before becoming an author she was principally known for committing armed robberies and serving a life sentence for the murder of her lover Ronnie Cook. She was known as the "Black Widow" because all of her lovers ended up either dead or in prison. Her novels are The Black Widow (2019), The Locksmith (2021) and The Game (2022).

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Detectives armed in hunt for dangerous men". The Times . No. 56712. London. 17 August 1966. p. 1.
  2. ↑ "Woman says Roberts told her: 'Yes, it was us'". The Times . No. 56808. London. 7 December 1966. p. 10.
  3. 1 2 "ITN Reporting 66: The way to Braybrook Street: the life of Harry Roberts". itnsource.com. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Burrell, Ian (17 October 2002). "Police killer will ask High Court to clear way for his release". The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  5. ↑ The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 ISBN   978-1-854-71160-1 p. 517
  6. 1 2 3 Kray, Kate (2003). Killers. London: John Blake Publishing. pp. 92–146. ISBN   9781904034476.
  7. 1 2 3 Bennetto, Jason (12 October 2004). "I have served my time" . The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  8. ↑ Renwick, Aly (1999). Hidden Wounds: Problems of Northern Ireland Veterans in Civvy Street. Barbed Wire. ISBN   9780953383306.
  9. ↑ McSmith, Andy (8 November 2007). "The lost wars: Britain's Malayan campaigns". The Independent . London.
  10. ↑ McVicar, John (2002). McVicar by Himself. London: Artnik. p. 55. ISBN   9781903906057.
  11. ↑ Russell-Pavier, Nick (2016). The Shepherd's Bush Murders. Century. ISBN   978-1780894379.
  12. ↑ Kray, Kate (1999). Natural Born Killers . London: Blake. ISBN   9781857823820.
  13. ↑ Rohrer, Finlo (16 June 2006). "The history of life". BBC News . Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  14. ↑ Ford, Richard; Brown, David (28 February 2009). "Police killer Harry Roberts to be freed after 42 years in jail". The Times . London. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  15. ↑ Kray, Kate; Ridley, Mike (17 December 2000). "He shows no remorse... he even bakes apple pies with pastry pictures of his crimes". The People . London.
  16. ↑ "Police killer loses parole case". BBC News . 29 December 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  17. ↑ "Review for police killer Roberts". BBC News . 29 June 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
  18. ↑ Hamilton, Fiona (13 December 1966). "30 Years at Least For Police Killers - Times Archive". London: archive.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  19. ↑ Ford, Richard; Brown, David (28 February 2009). "Police killer Harry Roberts to be freed after 42 years in jail - Times Online". timesonline.co.uk. London. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  20. ↑ Bingham, John (20 April 2009). "Jack Straw faces questions over alleged intimidation by police killer Harry Roberts". The Daily Telegraph . London. Archived from the original on 9 March 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  21. ↑ "Police killer Harry Roberts to be freed". BBC News. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  22. ↑ "Harry Roberts: Police killer released from prison". BBC News. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  23. ↑ Ryan Kiesel (9 January 2007). "Why they chant the cop killer's name". icSouthlondon. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  24. ↑ Ian Burrell (17 October 2002). "Police killer will ask High Court to clear way for his release". The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  25. 1 2 Tim Adams (22 April 2001). "Jake's progress". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  26. ↑ Robson, Garry (2000). No One Likes Us, We Don't Care': The Myth and Reality of Millwall Fandom. Berg Publishers. p. 65. ISBN   978-1859733721.
  27. ↑ Kray, Kate (1997). Lifers. Blake Publishing. pp. 97–98. ISBN   9781857821710.
  28. ↑ YouTube
  29. ↑ YouTube
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.