Charles Bronson (prisoner)

A fitness fanatic who has spent many years in segregation from other prisoners, Bronson wrote a book about exercising in confined spaces.

[25] He attacked fellow prisoner John Henry Gallagher with a glass jug, and was charged with grievous bodily harm.

[27] While recovering in solitary from a beating given to him for punching two prison officers, Bronson was handed the divorce papers filed by his wife.

[33] He attempted suicide and attacked another prison officer, and was made subject to a transfer direction order under the Mental Health Act.

[39] Following this failure, Bronson became depressed, but found his spirits lifted when Ronnie Kray arranged a visit from boxer Terry Downes.

[47] He was returned to the general prison population at Risley Remand Centre in 1985, and was placed in isolation after punching a fellow inmate.

[48] In May 1985, Bronson pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm for the attack on Horley, and three years were added to his sentence.

[53] On 3 January 1987, he was transferred to Gartree, where he served the rest of his sentence in isolation, other than ten days spent in nearby Leicester Prison.

[56] Bronson embarked on a short-lived career in illegal bare-knuckle boxing in the East End of London on the advice of long-time friend Reggie Kray.

He eventually "went over the edge" and ran riot in the nude, clutching a spear he fashioned out of a broken bottle and a broom handle.

[72] He was regularly moved and frequently in trouble, particularly so when he punched two prison officers at Gartree and took the Deputy Governor hostage at Frankland.

[78] On remand in Woodhill, he took a civilian librarian hostage, and demanded an inflatable doll, a helicopter, and a cup of tea from police negotiators.

[88] While there, prison officers Mick O'Hagan and Alan Jarvis encouraged Bronson to take up art, and he began to concentrate on cartooning.

[90] He attacked the governor at High Down, who had felt safe enough to visit Bronson on his own, telling his prison officers that "he's okay with me".

[94] After a long period of brooding, Bronson took two other Iraqi hijackers, along with another inmate named Jason Greasley, hostage in a cell.

[95] By his own admission, he was "losing it badly" and ranted about his dead father, saying that any "funny business" would result in him "snapping necks".

It gives me terrible headaches if I do ... Years of loneliness in small cells have left me paranoid about people invading my space.

[106] Danielson received £65,000 in compensation from the Home Office in an out-of-court settlement, although the prison service did not admit liability for its negligence in failing to protect a civilian employee.

[111] For a short time, Bronson converted to his wife's faith of Islam, and wished to be known as Charles Ali Ahmed, but did not change his name legally.

In court, with six prison guards surrounding him, Bronson said his wife and her daughter were helping to rehabilitate him, and references about his character, including reports from psychiatrists, were positive on this occasion.

This was postponed when his lawyer objected to a one-hour parole interview, requesting a full day to deal with Bronson's case.

In an enclosed note, Bronson appealed to prime minister David Cameron for him to be able to "live what's left of my life and not be buried in the prison system".

[116] On 28 February 2014, Bronson violently attacked the prison governor in a television room in HMP Woodhill, over a dispute that his mail was being withheld, including two letters from his mother.

[122] In July 2018, it became known that Bronson asked for a divorce, after photo evidence of a young British holiday-goer 'motorboating' on her chest and inviting him and his friends to her apartment, whilst on holiday in Tenerife, was leaked to a newspaper.

[128] In November 2018, Bronson was found not guilty at Leeds Crown Court after being tried for attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

[131][132][125] In June 2020, Bronson won a High Court battle for the right for his parole board meeting to be held in public, citing the right to a fair trial.

The National Victims' Association, which represents families affected by crime, queried the desirability of allowing Bronson "to engage with the British public in this way".

[141] In 2014, The Guardian reported that the sale of several of Bronson's artworks, which were formerly owned by Ronnie Kray, raised several thousand pounds for his mother to have a holiday.

[143] In 2021, Bronson, under the name Charles Arthur Salvador, was featured on the single "Only Mad Men Crawl" by the Ayia Napa-based recording act Lost Vegas.

[144] In 2023, Bronson put his drawings for sale at an exhibition, which he hoped could increase his chance for getting parole by demonstrating that he could have an occupation if released from prison.