He attended St Clement Danes Grammar School in West London.
In the later years of his sentence, Parker gained an honours degree from the Open University and began writing about his prison experiences.
On release, his first book Parkhurst Tales, was published, a memoir of his time in Parkhurst and other prisons, and his fellow convicts including the Kray twins and "Mad" Frankie Fraser.
He appeared in the Sky TV Documentary 'Mad Frank' Directed by Liam Galvin.
In 2003 Parker gained a master's degree in criminology from the University of Surrey.