Biggs: not clever

by Greg McDonald

If Ronnie Biggs’ lawyers are right, and Jack Straw’s decision to refuse the Great Train Robber parole shows British Justice up as “perverse and cruel”, then more perverse cruelty please, Mr Straw.

Fed through a tube after a series of strokes, Biggs’ supporters would have us take pity on the prison-wall jumping globe-trotter, whom they see as a romantic folk hero from a fabulous crime caper.

Perhaps someone should tell the family of the train driver, the late Jack Mills, what a harmless old thing the Great Train Robbery was. As Mills went about an honest day’s work, Biggs’ gang struck him with an iron bar, leaving him suffering lifelong trauma headaches until his death from leukaemia. What a caper, eh?

And of course it didn’t end there. A better man may have used his time behind bars to reflect on his crimes and emerge repentant of them – and grateful for the leniency of a legal system which grants prisoners privileges like open grounds. But no: Biggs vaulted the wall and took off for the Australian sun and, ultimately, Brazil.

It’s easy to pity an old man who can’t feed himself, but the two fingers this thug gave the British legal system for 35 years invite no such mercy.

If that’s “perverse and cruel”, it’s a more perverse cruelty which sees men like Jack Mills suffer while criminals soak up the sun. And it’s time Ronnie Biggs faced the consequences he’s spent his disgusting life avo

Comments

[HTBE]

He should be hanged!

[Brian Wylie]

Biggs was a career criminal why all the sympathy?

[The Difference]

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he
asked about his bill and the barber replies, 'I cannot accept money
from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was
pleased and left the shop.

When the barber goes to open his shop the next morning there is a
'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door..

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his
bill, the barber again replies, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm
doing community service this week.' The cop is happy and leaves the
shop.

The next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a 'thank
you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Later that day, a college professor comes in for a haircut, and when
he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replies, 'I cannot accept
money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The professor
is very happy and leaves the shop.

The next morning when the barber opens his shop, there is a 'thank
you' card and a dozen different books, such as 'How to Improve
Your Business' and 'Becoming More Successful.'

Then, a Member of Parliament comes in for a haircut , and when he goes
to pay his bill the barber again replies, 'I cannot accept money from
you. I'm doing community service this week.' The Member of Parliament
is very happy and leaves the shop.

The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen
Members of Parliament lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between
the citizens of our country and the Members of Parliament

[Dot.com]

The public turned against Biggs at the time not because he robbed a train and stole the money but because he didn't play the game when he attacked the railway worker. It was for not upholding the British sense of fair play that the public disliked him so much. He shouldn't have done it.

[Bogs Bogus Anon]

Why do we have refugees running the country?

[Bogus Bogus Anon]

Ecclelstone, Denis MacShane is really called Denis Matyjaszek whose family sought refuge here after the war.

Hitler did have good points as well as bad. He can't have been all bad.

[Dot.com]

Crooks

Your first port of call ought to be the MP's who refuse to deal with immigration.

Look at the shootings in Sheffield. Immigrants.

Stop the riff raff entering the country instead of importing criminals stop them at the ports.

As for Biggs. He is a harmless old man now. Most of the crooks are on the streets while the rest are supposedly in power.

[CROOKS]

Scapegoat NO!
CROOK YES!

HE WILL NEVER CHANGE

Honest decent people who want to live their lives without the threat of becoming a victim of the millions of crooks and terrorists in this country do not want any of them loose on the streets.

Only the wasters of the world want the other wasters of the world released onto the streets.

Lock them all up and throw away the key.
Bring back the death penalty for all murderers and terrorists without exception.

BRING LAW AND ORDER OUT OF THE CLOSET.

Get rid of the CROOKS

[Dot.com]

Crooks

Big jump there what?

I see nothing that links the criminal fraternity to Biggs' freedom.

Quite the contrary it would appear that the most recent criminal fraternity, ie the mp's, are wanting Biggs banged up for life.

Scapegoat, yeah.

[crooks]

Its obvious that it is ONLY THE CRIMINAL FRATERNITY who want biggs freed .

[Dot.com]

Perhaps Biggs is really a latter day Robin Hood stealing back from the Government what isn't really theirs in the first place.

[The Bogus Anon]

I don't care what happens to Roanld Biggs quite frankly. He is a bad'un. He doesn't derserve anyone's sympathy.. but I heard yesterday that a man who was involved in the gang rape of a teenage girl with severe learning difficulties, who was then doused in caustic by the gang, has had his sentence increased from 6 to 9 years. This is still derisory and shows that sentencing is becomming more and more lenient.

[storm95]

if you want a light sentence murder children your out in a couple of years
dont steal of the government (train robbery was carrying government money)as you will get no mercy as jack straw has shown none to biggs but a murderer can get out in a couple of years as i stated

[Dot.com]

Well, I agree with justice being done and so it should be. The problem with todays justice is that it appears to be selective. What about the rest of the criminal fraternity? When will justice be done with those people instead of leaving them to roam the streets?

Justice is for everybody not just a chosen few.

[HTBE]

At the end of the day, Biggs must serve his sentence so that justice is done. He was convicted to 30 years, escaped,laughed in the face of justice. Let him serve his term to the end.

[Craneman]

What everyone seems to be missing is that he came back to Britain of his own volition because he wanted some decent medical care. He didn't come back solely to hold his hands up & say he'd been a naughty boy & he was sorry but that coming back to the UK would prolong his life. He was basically using the system. No more no less.
He could have stayed in Brazil forever but he thought of himself & himself only. He's just a leech

[... ...]

Biggs can't be a bigger robber than this Government nor can he be a bigger criminal than the man who sold off the gold reserves for less than its value.

It's no good Straw holding up Biggs and using him as a scapegoat when there's bigger criminals amongst his own colleagues in the Government.

[Rocket]

What is going on, the poor man is ill, let him out now, he has served more than a life sentence, for what? The that stuff that this country values more than human life. Yea stolen Money, big deal he didn't kill no one, what with Sicko's who rape or murder children or pensioners and are out after 6 or 7 years to commit the same atrocities all over again, is Ronnie Biggs up for commiting the same Crime??? I rest my case

[Dot.com]

Will straw take the same tuff line with the mp's who are no better than the train robbers?

Straw himself claimed money back from the taxpayers that he was not entitled to. That point has died a quick death when really it should be resurrected.

Perhaps Straw will spend some time behind bars now?

[Equilibrium]

It is largely immaterial whether Ronnie Biggs is paroled or not, as it would appear that he will die in the same hospital bed whether he is surrounded by guards or nurses. (Unfortunately the taxpayer is footing the bill to guard a man who can't even speak, let alone abscond). The sad part of all this is that the government punishes the theft of property so much more harshly than rape and murder, or maybe the length of his sentence reflects the fact that he made the keystone cops, the establishment and the judiciary look stupid, not once, but twice.

[les lee]

you are of course entitled to your views englishman ..
however two things .... it was not biggs who coshed driver mills ....
secondly ,... if any sane and sensible man driving a train was confronted with several masked men and decided to put up a resistance then he probably deserved a good slap...FOR BEING SO BLOODY STUPID..!
NOT that i am defending the use of brute force though ..
mills died OVER 7 YEARS LATER.. and that in itself perhaps showed he was prepared to live out his life as a hero without having to work again ...... again my take on a stupid man ...
what straw has reiterated though is all governments attitudes that the theft of money is more heinous a crime than multiple murder as committed by those irish terrorists that were freed only after a couple of years ... and not let us forget that they also killed OUR SOLDIERS .... buthey the government obviously only regards human life as collateral damage!!

[acme]

I think we should use the USA way of sentencing. IE. If you get more than one conviction, make them run consecutively.
If you kill 5 people that is 5 life sentences, one after the other.
Biggs should still serve his 30 year term plus a further term for escaping. He is not a 'hero' he is a convict who has been running free, and now back where he belongs!

[englishman]

The release of the Irish murderers is a scandal. I agree with those that have pointed out the pathetic sentences handed down to the most revolting murderers, who get released after a derisory time inside ( with TV, drugs on demand, conjugal rights, etc. thrown in )

Having said this , the train driver involved in the robbery was coshed over the head and never worked again. Biggs has never showed the slightest remorse, and for once I agree with Straw's decision.

[Peter]

He’s not being treated harshly in the sense that he did the crime so should serve the time. If the same approach was taken with all thugs the crime rate would halve for the simple reason that nobody can mug either an old lady or a train driver while they’re behind bars.

The real scandal here is the arbitray nature of “justice” under the present government. Biggs helped to rob a train and escaped from prison, but will now die there. The three savages who raped a girl with the mental age of eight and doused her in caustic soda while filming their
“fun” on mobile phones got between six and nine years so will be out in between three and four and half years to do it again to some other girl.

So much for justice - Labour style.

[Show how tuff you really are Jack.]

Show how tuff you really are Jack.

Your government WASTED a million pounds on repatriating ONLY ONE family of refused asylum seekers with your campaign to get tuff.

GET RID OF THE THOUSANDS OF OTHERS THAT WERE REFUSED ASYLUM WHO ARE STILL HERE.

Then and only then can you stand up and say

I DID WHAT THE BRITISH VOTERS WANT.

[Shafted Briton]

What about the boy who murdered the schoolmaster outside his school?

His reward was being released from prison early with a new identity and a new life, in Britain, not even deported!

This is a case of ageism.

Jack Straw can only get tough with the oldies!!!

(or those older than him).

If Lord Ahmed didn't know he was breaking the law then what was his purpose?

The MP's ripping off the country knew what they were doing was wrong. Don't see them being held in jail.

Let Biggs go now.

[les lee]

these IRISH MURDERERS were released when several of them had only done a couple of years in the maze prison!!!
and for having an opinion such as you have mcdonald proves yet again how pieces of silver thrown to the likes of people such as you actually help to pervert the course of true justice in britain ... and moreso since this treacherous labour government usurped power !

[les lee]

how the hell can jack straw deny ronnie biggs release when MULTIPLE IRISH MURDERERS were released from their sentences .........???????