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Ronnie Biggs is not faking illness to con way out of jail, says son
Nigel Rosser14 Aug 2009
The son of Great Train robber Ronnie Biggs today dismissed suggestions that his father's ill health was part of a con to get him freed from prison on compassionate grounds.
Michael Biggs, 34, also hit out at claims that his father - whose condition improved after his release last week - had been exploiting him for years and defended his right to freedom.
In an exclusive interview with the Standard, Michael Biggs said: "The thought he's been pretending to be nearly dead with pneumonia, spending hours trying to ingest food through a tube for the last few years, and then suddenly rising, Lazarus-like, from his sickbed to live the life of Riley, is both absurd and very hurtful."
Biggs, 80, will return home from hospital early next week, his son revealed. It had been hoped that he would be discharged this afternoon but doctors have insisted on further tests before he travels from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital to a nursing home in Barnet.
Michael Biggs said: "My father remains a very sick man who is entering the last chapter of his life. He cannot walk, talk, eat or do anything unaided apart from smile and be happy.
"He is, as we have said for years, imprisoned in his own body as securely as he was when imprisoned at Norwich or Belmarsh. The only difference is that now he is legally free, he is happier at having served his time and therefore has greater emotional and physical resources to fight the illness. If he had stayed in the prison, I'm sure he would be dead."
Initially, the euphoria of Biggs's release showed a sharp improvement in his condition. But that has tailed off and he remains critically ill. Doctors at the hospital signed papers supporting his release on compassionate grounds because they believe he is dying.
His family remain angered at comments made after the news broke in the Standard last Friday. Michael said: "It has been suggested that Dad was a nasty, petty criminal. He was neither nasty nor a petty criminal. He was a nice man but a crap criminal when he was young who was always being caught, which he cheerfully admits.
"It has also been suggested that he used me all my life. Whilst my birth may well have been the lifeline he needed to evade British justice and remain in Brazil, the fact is he's been a fantastically loving, supportive father who's always been there for me and has always done what is best for me. He is more than my dad. He is my best mate."
Last week Justice Secretary Jack Straw granted Biggs parole on the grounds he was dying.
Reader views (10)
Perhaps Biggs will seek to visit the grave of Jack Mills, the train driver who Biggs gang coshed and died within the next 7 years. Mills was unfortunate not to spend decades living it up in Rio, but had to lie beneath the soil.
Having said all that - there comes a Day when the great and small have to stand before the Seat of Judgemnt and give account. That ought to send a chill down everyone's spine, train robber or not.
- Chris Williams, Cardiff, 17/08/2009 16:54
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@Mike Gray.....
For an alleged "biographer", you need to learn how to spell.
Another parasite trying to rip-off Joe Public on the back of a cheapskate criminal who should have contributed something to the UK before he decided to avail himself of its excellent NHS medical care.
- Reuben Camara, Republic of Morecambe, UK, 17/08/2009 07:11
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Some people seem to have forgotten that Biggs spent
the best years of his life living it up in Rio. He
could have returned at any time to complete his sentence,
but chose not to. Only when he grew old and ill he
decided to return at our expense. He should have been
left to rot in prison with no health care.
- Lb, Bromley, 14/08/2009 23:59
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"...he is happier at having served his time"
Wrong! He got out early, and suddenly got better. He did NOT serve his time. In reality, he escaped twice from the British prison service.
He may not be going around living it up with the lads, but then again, not many 80 year olds do. He's doing well enough for an octogenarian recovering from pneumonia (an illness not unheard of at that age). The man is a con-artist and is having his last good laugh at the society he's had nothing but contempt for throughout his life.
- Rogan, Irving, 14/08/2009 23:58
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P Staker is absolutely right. How much money has Biggs cost the UK in his lifetime? He only returned because he needed medical attention and he was skint. Should never have been allowed back.
- Big Figure, London, 14/08/2009 16:22
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The mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery, Bruce Reynolds, was sentenced to 10 years - and that following his capture after 5 years on the run. Biggs has served a total of 9½ years - so why the fuss about letting him go?
- Austen, London, 14/08/2009 16:06
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FOR GODS SAKE- GET OFF RONNIE AND MICHAEL BIGGS BACKS, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THIS SCHOOL BOY BULLING TACTICS ?
RONNIE BIGGS WAS DIAGNOSED BY A SENIOR DOCTOR AT NORWICH UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, WITH SEVERE PNEUMONIA ALONG WITH OTHER SERIOUS BREATHING COMPLICATIONS, AND CONSIDERING HIS AGE(80)IS NOT EXPECTED TO LIVE FOR LONG.
I VISITED RONNIE LAST WEEK, YES, HE IS OUT OF HIS BED, BUT THATS ON THE NHS HOSPITALS INSTRUCTIONS, DONT LIE IN BED 24/7, THEY ENCOURAGE HIM TO GET UP AND HAVE TO DRESS HIM, ITS ALL THERAPUTIC.
HES SERVED HIS TEN YEARS IN UK CUSTODY, THE SAME SENTENCE SERVED BY THE OTHER TRAIN ROBBERS, SO IN MY OPINION SHOULD OF BEEN FREED MONTHS AGO.
IF MORE SONS LOVED THIER FATHERS AS MICHAEL LOVES RONNIE, THE WORLD WE LIVE IN WOULD BE A MUCH MORE TRANQUIL PLACE, LET THEM LIVE TOGETHER IN PEACE WITH LOVING SUPPORTING FAMILY AND CLOSE FRIENDS AROUND THEM,
THANK YOU
MIKE GRAY
AUTHOR "RONNIE BIGGS- THE INSIDE STORY"
- Mike Gray (Ronnie Biggs Biographer), KENT, UK, 14/08/2009 13:44
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Rob the "Royal" mail and you get life imprisonment, thousands (if not millions) of pounds spent tax payers trying to catch you. Be a paedophile, kill a child (baby P for example) and you might be out in 7 years! Rubbish justice system!
- Homeless Chris, London, UK, 14/08/2009 11:25
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Yet again he's pulled a fast one and this incredibly stupid government have fallen for it again.
Bleeding heart Lefty-Liberals in charge of your society? Then it is a criminal scum's paradise.
- Frank, Home Counties, England., 14/08/2009 11:20
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Like we would believe anything this pair said anyway, why don't they sod off back to fantastic Brazil, and stop costing us money.
Neither of them have any right to be here, biggs gave up that right voluntarily years ago.
I suppose we will have mick London on any minute fighting his cause again.
- P Staker, London, 14/08/2009 10:19
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