Page 202 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

public who perceived them as gangsters, villains and murderers, I cannot agree with that
image. But they certainly had a chameleon- like quality, which so easily confused celebrities
and others with whom they came into contact. When meeting such people, they would
always be immaculately dressed, quietly spoken and polite. They had no kind of
conversational ability or perception of current generalities, of course, and their reluctance to
engage in such trivia was often mistaken for shyness.

So they were able to display a side to their natures which was totally alien to their normal
characters and which confused people into believing they were polite, clean-living
gentlemen. When television personalities spoke of them as nice people others were
persuaded that if they, who knew them so well, expressed such views then this must be
correct. How misguided they were and, unfortunately, still are.

Actually, one of the reasons for their downfall was that they courted publicity. Any sensible
figure in the Underworld wants to avoid the spotlight. The best villains are the ones the police,
let alone the public, have never heard of. The Krays' predecessors, Billy Hill and Jack Spot,
avoided publicity until they were almost at the end of their reigns as Kings of the Underworld
and it was only when they courted it that they realised what a blessing it had been to be out
of the public eye. I well remember Jackie Spot, just before he had been so grievously
assaulted by Frankie Fraser and the others, bemoaning his fate to me, saying, 'Nipper, it's all
down to the papers. Nobody knew nothing about us until then.'
I still meet people who ask what the Krays were really like and they just do not believe me
when I tell them they were wicked, unscrupulous, murdering villains. For some reason they
want to remember them as Robin Hood-like figures. Guys who did some evil but an awful lot
of good to compensate. They believe the Krays were glamorous figures who were the
downtrodden victims of the authorities. Such people are unable or unwilling to accept the
reality of the situation. They are easily influenced by the hype and misinformation spewed out
from various quarters and nothing will deter them from their hero-worship of these pathetic
criminals. To them the Krays were the people who brought authority and discipline to the East
End of London and should be remembered for this contribution to society.
Forget it. There was no bright side to the Krays. They were unfaithful to their own kind and this
in great measure was the reason for their downfall. When I say that I am thinking particularly
of the killing of Frank Mitchell. He was somebody they took advantage of because of his
ignorance and instability: making promises which, in part, they fulfilled and then, when
matters appeared to be getting out of control, coldly and calmly arranging for his murder.
That is why I feel very strongly they were enemies of their own kind.
They were ruthless with their own troops. They carried out a reign of terror, not only against
those who were paying for protection but also amongst their own firm. It wasn't an easy
relationship between the firm and the top guys - they ruled not in a democratic way but by
terror. During my inquiry I went into Brixton prison and one of the firm said, 'I am terrified of the
sight of blood - especially my own,' and another said, 'You never knew what was happening.
Who was going to be next? It could have been any of us.'”

Credits This Section

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Train_Robbery_(1963)
• Slipper of The Yard – Jack Slipper Sidgwick & Jackson London Books
• https://postalheritage.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/the-great-train-robbery-the-untold-story-
from-the-closed-investigation-files/
• Ronni Biggs Autobiography : Odd Man Out: The Last Straw
• Nipper Read – The Man Who Nicked The Krays – Sphere Books Page202
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kray_twins
• Our Story - Ron & Reg Kray - Sidgwick & Jackson (27 Aug. 2015)