Harry Roberts and Foxtrot One-One


Book Description

In August 1966, two weeks after England won the World Cup, and four miles from Wembley Stadium, Harry Roberts and his associates gunned down three unarmed police detectives in front of dozens of primary school children. The nation was outraged and struggled to understand what had happened. Roberts had served in the special forces during the conflict in Malaya and claimed he was assigned to kill selected targets. He returned to the UK keen to continue such work in civilian life, but he was rejected by the two gangs that dominated the London Criminal Underworld in the 1960s, the Krays and the Richardsons. Prophetically, they considered him to be too violent. Following the Shepherd’s Bush Massacre, Roberts’ accomplices, John Witney and John Duddy, were quickly arrested, but Roberts went to ground, using the survival and camouflage skills that he had learned in the British Army. Harry Roberts and Foxtrot One-One covers every detail of the investigation and manhunt that followed, from arrest, trial and imprisonment to Roberts’ eventual (and controversial) release. One of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century. The case that led to the police firearms training arrangements seen today. Looks at the tragic impact on the victims’ families. By a former senior Metropolitan Police armed officer.




The Wrong Man


Book Description

David Ralph Martin was a cross-dressing criminal who carried out a string of sophisticated offences in the 1970s and '80s. A prolific burglar, car thief, fraudster and gunman, he possessed a deep loathing of anyone in authority. In addition, he was a master of disguise and a veritable Houdini when it came to escaping from prison. After shooting a policeman during a botched burglary, he escaped from court on Christmas Eve, 1982. When police believed him to be in a yellow Mini in the Earls Court area with his girlfriend, they opened fire, only to discover they had shot an entirely innocent man – a 26-year-old film editor named Steven Waldorf. The investigation became a cause célèbre at the time, and was subsequently taken over by Scotland Yard's Flying Squad, of which the author was a member. One of the biggest manhunts in the history of the Metropolitan Police ensued, before Martin was finally arrested after dramatically fleeing down the tracks between two Underground stations. Author Dick Kirby reveals for the first time the inside story of the hunt for 'the most dangerous man in London', whose eventual arrest brought to an end one of the most contentious investigations in Met history.




The Brave Blue Line


Book Description

In their daily battle against a remorseless tide of crime, officers of Londons Metropolitan Police routinely risk their lives protecting the Capital. In The Brave Blue Line Dick Kirby, the former Scotland Yard detective turned popularcrime author, has brought together a superb collection of inspiring stories of police gallantry over the last hundred years.Officers to be honoured with the George Cross, the highest civilian award, have their stories told including Jim Beaton who saved Princess Anne from kidnap in The Mall.Three women officers have been awarded the George Medal, two for decoy work, the third for a heroic rooftop rescue.The book concludes with the astonishing story of a retired detective who tackled armed robbers at the cost of his eye. He may have left the Met behind him but not his courage.Every page of this gripping book with its thrilling and well researched accounts of outstanding acts of gallantry by policemen and women makes for inspiring reading. This is crime writing of the highest order.




Britain's Most Notorious Prisoners


Book Description

From Oscar Wilde to the Kray brothers—a unique history of the lives and crimes of the United Kingdom’s most famous, and infamous, inmates. Their names can chill the blood of true-crime aficionados: Peter Sutcliffe, aka The Yorkshire Ripper; child-torturer Ian Brady; cannibal Dennis Nilsen; serial killer Beverley Allitt. Some are tinged in glamour: beautiful nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis, hanged for a crime of passion. While others hold a bizarre fascination, like bare-knuckle boxer Michael Gordon Peterson. Called “the most violent prisoner in Britain” he changed his name to Charles Bronson in honor of the Death Wish star. Only to change it yet again to Charles Salvador, in honor of his favorite artist, Dali. By any name, the “one-man riot” was a prison superstar. Britain’s Most Notorious Prisoners tells the stories of these lives and many more inside the Big House where prison culture breeds a strange, unreal community. It’s also where the system learns to cope with those who refuse to live by the law of the land: killers and rapists, spies, gangster, hit-men, political prisoners, and serial offenders—as well as some who were egregiously wronged. From headline-makers to long-forgotten villains, these stories make for a thrilling and harrowing look at life, death, and survival behind bars.




Stop! Armed Police!


Book Description

Join veteran crime-fighter Stephen Smith on a journey through the dark and dangerous world of the Metropolitan Police specialist firearms command from its inception in 1966, when the cold-blooded murder of three police officers sparked a revolution in the training of armed officers, to the present day. This unique police unit battled against the IRA in the 1970s, experienced its first operational shootings in the 1980s and underwent massive expansion in the 1990s. In the new millenium it fought against Dome raiders, kidnappers, and al-Qaeda terrorists, then worked to provide London with a secure environment in which to host the 2012 Olympic Games. From a gunman ordering cannabis smuggled in fried chicken during a siege to a deranged killer holding toddlers hostage, London's armed police have seen it all. With his wealth of first-hand experience, Stephen Smith has woven together historic and up-to date accounts of perilous and often famously controversial firearms operations across England's capital. Using hundreds of photographs, illustrations and drawings from several archived sources, this fascinating volume spans five decades of the Metropolitan Police's fight against crime and many of its photographs and illustrations have never been published before. Packed with detail and intrigue, 'Stop! Armed Police!' is a must-have for those with an interest in police firearms matters and is a captivating behind-the-scenes look at the dangerous business of policing London's streets.




London's Armed Police


Book Description

An insider’s account of an elite unit fighting crime and terror on the streets of London—includes hundreds of photos. In this book, veteran firearms officer Stephen Smith goes behind the scenes of the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Firearms Unit, CO19—covering a wide range of events in recent history, from the controversial shootings of Azelle Rodney in 2005 and Mark Duggan in 2011 to the terrorist attacks on Westminster, London Bridge and Borough Market, as well as stories from decades past. Through his unique access to CO19, Smith has managed to put together hundreds of detailed photographs, both historical and contemporary, along with text that goes a long way to explain why it is necessary to have such an elite firearms unit on standby 24/7 in London. This comprehensive volume will bring you up-to date with the training, operations, equipment, and mindset of these courageous individuals who put their lives on the line on a daily basis to keep London safe.




Armed Police


Book Description

On 7 July 2005, just before 9 am, explosive devices detonated on London Underground trains at Liverpool Street, Edgware Road and Kings Cross stations and on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square. Fifty-six people were killed and over 700 injured. Suicide bombing had come to Britain. Two weeks later, the capital's commuters narrowly missed disaster when four more devices failed to explode. Security in London was increased to unprecedented levels as Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair said his force faced 'its largest operational challenge since the war'. Heavily armed police officers patrolling the streets became a regular feature of television news programmes, leaving an enduring impression that unarmed policing in Britain had gone forever and with it the kindly image of the archetypal British bobby. Controversy rages over the increased use of firearms because in the public mind, the hallmark of British security has always been unarmed policing. Now, for the first time, former Head of the Metropolitan Police Firearms Unit, Mike Waldren, gives his insider account of the changes in Britain's policing, spanning over half a century and including many examples of extraordinary heroism, tragedy, controversy, comedy, intrigue and occasional farce.




Murderers Or Martyrs


Book Description

A spell-binding account of an appalling miscarriage of justice. Charged with the "Cranborne Road murder" of Wavertree widow Alice Rimmer, two Manchester youths were hastily condemned by a Liverpool jury on the police-orchestrated lies of a criminal and two malleable young prostitutes. George Skelly's detailed account of the warped trial, predictable appeal result courtesy of 'hanging judge' Lord Goddard and the whitewash secret inquiry will enrage all who believe in justice. And if the men's prison letters (including from the condemned cells) sometimes make you laugh, they will make you weep far longer. Following his masterful expose of injustice in the Cameo Cinema murder case in 1950s Liverpool described in his book The Cameo Conspiracy, George Skelly now reveals a second police conspiracy-two years later in the same city involving the same senior detective-which this time led to the execution of two young men. In 2011, faced with countless proven contradictions and errors plus substantial previously undisclosed evidence, the Criminal Cases Review Commission unbelievably side-stepped the opportunity to refer this gross injustice to the Court of Appeal. So until justice is finally done, Teddy Devlin and Alfie Burns still lie together beneath the staff car park at Walton Prison, their only trace a tiny plaque numbered 55. 'A very powerful case of a miscarriage of justice': Former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith PC QC As featured in the Liverpool Echo. Author George Skelly is also the author of The Cameo Conspiracy (3rd edition Waterside Press, 2011) about an equally disturbing case where an innocent man was hanged in a famous miscarriage of justice.