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==Legacy==
==Legacy==
Roberts' murder of the police officers made him a hero to [[anarchism|anarchists]] and [[Football hooliganism|football hooligans]].<ref>{{cite web | title = TV set visit: Jake Arnott's 'He Kills Coppers' | author = Gabriel Tate | url = http://www.timeout.com/london/books/features/4401/TV_set_visit-Jake_Arnott-s-He_Kills_Coppers-.html | publisher = [[Time Out (company)|''Time Out'']] | date = 11 March 2008 | accessdate = 2010-07-10}}</ref> His name has been used for many years to antagonise the police, with chants like "Harry Roberts is our friend, is our friend, is our friend. Harry Roberts is our friend, he kills coppers. Let him out to kill some more, kill some more, kill some more, let him out to kill some more, Harry Roberts" as well as "He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush. He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, our mate Harry" (to the tune of "[[London Bridge Is Falling Down]]"),<ref>{{cite web | title = Why they chant the cop killer's name | author = Ryan Kiesel | url = http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0400lambeth/tm_headline=why-they-chant-the-cop-killer-s-name&method=full&objectid=18425983&siteid=50100-name_page.html | publisher = icSouthlondon | date = 9 January 2007 | accessdate = 2007-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Police killer will ask High Court to clear way for his release | author = Ian Burrell | url = http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article140341.ece | publisher = ''[[The Independent]]'' | date = 17 October 2002 | accessdate = 2007-06-24 | location=London}}</ref><ref name="g">{{cite news | title = Jake's progress | author = Tim Adams | url = http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/crime/story/0,6000,476374,00.html | publisher = ''[[The Guardian]]'' | date = 22 April 2001 | accessdate = 2007-06-24 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Robson | first = Garry | authorlink = | title = No One Likes Us, We Don't Care': The Myth and Reality of Millwall Fandom | publisher = Berg Publishers | year = 2000 | doi = | isbn = 1859733727 | page = 65 }}</ref> which originated with groups of young people outside Shepherd's Bush police station after Roberts had been arrested.<ref>{{cite book | last = Kray | first = Kate | authorlink = | title = Lifers | publisher = Blake Publishing | year = 1997 | pages = 97–98 | doi = | isbn = 9781857821710 }}</ref>
Roberts' name has been used for many years to antagonise the police, with chants like "Harry Roberts is our friend, is our friend, is our friend. Harry Roberts is our friend, he kills coppers. Let him out to kill some more, kill some more, kill some more, let him out to kill some more, Harry Roberts" as well as "He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush. He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, our mate Harry" (to the tune of "[[London Bridge Is Falling Down]]"),<ref>{{cite web | title = Why they chant the cop killer's name | author = Ryan Kiesel | url = http://icsouthlondon.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0400lambeth/tm_headline=why-they-chant-the-cop-killer-s-name&method=full&objectid=18425983&siteid=50100-name_page.html | publisher = icSouthlondon | date = 9 January 2007 | accessdate = 2007-06-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Police killer will ask High Court to clear way for his release | author = Ian Burrell | url = http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article140341.ece | publisher = ''[[The Independent]]'' | date = 17 October 2002 | accessdate = 2007-06-24 | location=London}}</ref><ref name="g">{{cite news | title = Jake's progress | author = Tim Adams | url = http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/crime/story/0,6000,476374,00.html | publisher = ''[[The Guardian]]'' | date = 22 April 2001 | accessdate = 2007-06-24 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Robson | first = Garry | authorlink = | title = No One Likes Us, We Don't Care': The Myth and Reality of Millwall Fandom | publisher = Berg Publishers | year = 2000 | doi = | isbn = 1859733727 | page = 65 }}</ref> which originated with groups of young people outside Shepherd's Bush police station after Roberts had been arrested.<ref>{{cite book | last = Kray | first = Kate | authorlink = | title = Lifers | publisher = Blake Publishing | year = 1997 | pages = 97–98 | doi = | isbn = 9781857821710 }}</ref>


His folk-hero status among these sub-cultures has led to various artistic representations of Roberts. The character of Billy Porter in the 2001 novel ''He Kills Coppers'' by [[Jake Arnott]], and the 2008 TV adaptation, is based on Harry Roberts,<ref name="g"/> and he features in the lyrics of several songs by the band [[Chumbawamba]], including one in which his name is chanted repeatedly ("Harry Roberts, Harry Roberts, Roberts Roberts, Harry Harry") in parody of the [[Hare Krishna (mantra)|Hare Krishna]] mantra "Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare".
There have been artistic representations of Roberts. The character of Billy Porter in the 2001 novel ''He Kills Coppers'' by [[Jake Arnott]], and the 2008 TV adaptation, is based on Harry Roberts,<ref name="g"/> and he features in the lyrics of several songs by the band [[Chumbawamba]], including one in which his name is chanted repeatedly ("Harry Roberts, Harry Roberts, Roberts Roberts, Harry Harry") in parody of the [[Hare Krishna (mantra)|Hare Krishna]] mantra "Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare".


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 20:32, 16 December 2012

Harry Roberts
Born1936
Wanstead, Essex, England[1]
Other namesRonald Ernest Hall[1]
OccupationCarpenter[2]
Criminal statusImprisoned
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penaltyLife sentence with a recommended minimum term of 30 years

Harry Maurice Roberts (born 1936) is a career criminal who instigated the Shepherd's Bush Murders in which three police officers were shot dead in 1966.[3] The killings happened after the plain-clothed officers approached the van which Roberts and two other men were sitting in, in Braybrook Street, near Wormwood Scrubs prison in London. Roberts opened fire on the officers when he feared they would discover the firearms his gang were planning to use in an armed robbery. He shot dead two of the officers, while one of his accomplices fatally shot the third. Having exceeded by far his minimum term of 30 years imprisonment, Roberts remains one of the United Kingdom's longest-serving prisoners.

Early life

Roberts was born in Wanstead, Essex, in 1936.[1] As a child he became involved in crime by helping his mother sell stolen goods on the black market. Roberts later described how the family owned a café in north London where his mother was "...selling on mostly food — tea and sugar — and sometimes ration books. Anything she could get her hands on."

In his late teens, he was sentenced to detention after using an iron bar to attack a shopkeeper during a robbery.[4][5] Roberts served a 19-month sentence inside Gaynes Hall borstal, and was released in January 1956.[4]

One week after leaving the borstal, Roberts was called up for National Service and joined the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), with whom he saw action during the Mau Mau Uprising and Malayan Emergency.[4][6][7] Of his service in the jungle he said that this was where he learned to kill and that he had "personally killed at least four". Roberts has claimed that he reached the rank of Sergeant while in the Army although others have given his rank as Lance Corporal.[5][8] Journalist and former armed robber John McVicar has said that Roberts "gloated" about his killings while in prison, and had "acquired a taste for killing prisoners [of war] on the orders of his officers" in the Army.[9]

After leaving the Army, Roberts returned to his criminal activities, and in partnership with Jack Witney carried out "dozens" of armed robberies, targeting bookmakers, post offices and banks. He said, "The most I earned was £1,000 from a single job. Witney was the eldest, the boss: he knew the best places to rob. [John] Duddy joined us later."[5][10] In 1959 Roberts and an accomplice posed as tax inspectors to gain entry into the home of an elderly man. Once inside the man was bound and robbed and beaten about the head with a glass decanter. When Roberts was captured and tried for the crime the judge, Mr. Justice Maude, said: "You are a brutal thug. You came very near the rope this time. It is to be hoped you do not appear before us again." Roberts received a sentence of seven years, and the victim - who never recovered from his injuries - died one year and three days after the attack. Had he died two days earlier, Roberts would have been tried for his murder.[11]

Shepherd's Bush murders

Main article: Shepherd's Bush Murders

Following the shootings of 41-year-old Police Constable Geoffrey Fox, Detective Sergeant Christopher Head, aged 30, and 25-year-old Temporary Detective Constable David Wombwell, Roberts hid in Thorley Wood near Epping Forest to avoid capture. He was familiar with the area from visits there as a child.[12] A £1,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. Roberts used his military training to evade capture for ninety-six days. Roberts was finally captured by police while sleeping rough in a barn at Blount's Farm near Bishop's Stortford.

Trial and imprisonment

Roberts was convicted of all three murders and sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum term of 30 years.[13] The murders occurred just eight months after the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 suspended the death penalty in England, Wales and Scotland and substituted a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. While in prison, Roberts made several attempts to escape. He continues to serve time, despite the expiry of his recommended minimum term in 1996.

In 2001, he was moved to an open prison. However, Roberts was returned to a closed prison within months after allegations that he was involved in drug dealing and contraband smuggling.[14] Author Kate Kray, who interviewed Roberts for her book Natural Born Killers, said that he has no remorse for his victims and recreates the murders in art and pastry decorations, making apple pies and decorating them with pastry cut-outs of policemen being shot. Kray said that he also produces "precisely drawn and coloured" paintings depicting someone shooting a policeman.[15]

Appeals

In 2005 his appeal to the House of Lords over the use of secret evidence to keep him in jail failed. The evidence had been obtained by tapping private phone calls between Roberts and his solicitor. The material was then introduced as evidence at his parole hearings.

In September 2006, 70-year-old Roberts applied for a judicial review over apparent delays by the parole board in reaching a decision to free him by the end of the year. In December 2006, he was again turned down for parole.[16] On 29 June 2007, he was given leave to seek a High Court judicial review over his failed parole bid, with the judge saying his case, "was of great public interest."[17]

It was reported in February 2009 that Harry Roberts hoped to be freed from prison within months, having served 42 years in jail having already completed the first stage of a parole board hearing, he believed this would pave the way for his release. Roberts hoped a final hearing would find that at the age of 72 he was no longer a risk to the public and that the parole board would order his immediate release. At this time he had already served 12 years more than the minimum term recommended by his trial judge who at the time of sentencing told Roberts that it was unlikely that any future Home Secretary would "ever think fit to show mercy by releasing you on licence... This is one of those cases in which the sentence of imprisonment for 'life' may well be treated as meaning exactly what it says."[18] It was recognised that government ministers were concerned that any decision on the matter would provoke public fury and that Roberts personal safety might be put at risk, but would nonetheless be powerless to halt the release.

Supporters of Roberts had previously claimed that successive Home Secretaries have blocked his release for political reasons because of fears of a public backlash. However Peter Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said that there would be widespread anger among serving and former officers. Legal sources said they believed that the parole board was likely to recommend that he was eligible for an open prison as a way of preparing him for his eventual release. Jack Straw, the former Justice Secretary, retained the power to reject a parole board recommendation that Roberts be moved to an open prison. However, he could not block a decision by the board to order his release.[19]

In April 2009 it was alleged that while working at an animal sanctuary on day release, Roberts made violent threats to the owners.[20]

In July 2009, the parole board determined that Roberts still posed a risk to the public and should continue to serve time at Littlehey prison in Cambridgeshire where he works in the library.[21]

Legacy

Roberts' name has been used for many years to antagonise the police, with chants like "Harry Roberts is our friend, is our friend, is our friend. Harry Roberts is our friend, he kills coppers. Let him out to kill some more, kill some more, kill some more, let him out to kill some more, Harry Roberts" as well as "He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush, Shepherd's Bush. He shot three down in Shepherd's Bush, our mate Harry" (to the tune of "London Bridge Is Falling Down"),[22][23][24][25] which originated with groups of young people outside Shepherd's Bush police station after Roberts had been arrested.[26]

There have been artistic representations of Roberts. The character of Billy Porter in the 2001 novel He Kills Coppers by Jake Arnott, and the 2008 TV adaptation, is based on Harry Roberts,[24] and he features in the lyrics of several songs by the band Chumbawamba, including one in which his name is chanted repeatedly ("Harry Roberts, Harry Roberts, Roberts Roberts, Harry Harry") in parody of the Hare Krishna mantra "Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare".

References

  1. ^ a b c "Detectives armed in hunt for dangerous men". The Times. No. 56712. London. 17 August 1966. p. 1.
  2. ^ "Woman says Roberts told her: 'Yes, it was us'". The Times. No. 56808. London. 7 December 1966. p. 10.
  3. ^ Burrell, Ian (17 October 2002). "Police killer will ask High Court to clear way for his release". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  4. ^ a b c Kray, Kate (2003). Killers. London: John Blake Publishing. pp. 92–146. ISBN 9781904034476.
  5. ^ a b c Bennetto, Jason (12 October 2004). "'I have served my time'". The Independent. London. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  6. ^ Renwick, Aly (1999). Hidden Wounds: Problems of Northern Ireland Veterans in Civvy Street. Barbed Wire. ISBN 9780953383306.
  7. ^ McSmith, Andy (8 November 2007). "The lost wars: Britain's Malayan campaigns". The Independent. London.
  8. ^ "Capitalising on Terror". J7 Truth Campaign. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  9. ^ McVicar, John (2002). McVicar by Himself. London: Artnik. p. 55. ISBN 9781903906057.
  10. ^ Gallagher, Ian (19 April 2009). "Police killer Harry Roberts's five-year terror campaign to silence woman who kept him behind bars". The Mail on Sunday. London. Retrieved 19 September 2010.
  11. ^ McKeever, Paul (April 2009). "View from the Chair" (PDF). Police Magazine: 13. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  12. ^ Kray, Kate (1999). Natural Born Killers. London: Blake. ISBN 9781857823820.
  13. ^ Rohrer, Finlo (16 June 2006). "The history of life". BBC News. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
  14. ^ Ford, Richard; Brown, David (28 February 2009). "Police killer Harry Roberts to be freed after 42 years in jail". The Times. London. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  15. ^ Kray, Kate; Ridley, Mike (17 December 2000). "He shows no remorse... he even bakes apple pies with pastry pictures of his crimes". The People. London.
  16. ^ "Police killer loses parole case". BBC News. 29 December 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  17. ^ "Review for police killer Roberts". BBC News. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2007.
  18. ^ Hamilton, Fiona (13 December 1966). "30 Years At Least For Police Killers - Times Archive". London: archive.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  19. ^ Ford, Richard; Brown, David (28 February 2009). "Police killer Harry Roberts to be freed after 42 years in jail - Times Online". London: timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2009.
  20. ^ Bingham, John (20 April 2009). "Jack Straw faces questions over alleged intimidation by police killer Harry Roberts". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 18 September 2010. [dead link]
  21. ^ "Sorry". Daily Mail. London.
  22. ^ Ryan Kiesel (9 January 2007). "Why they chant the cop killer's name". icSouthlondon. Retrieved 24 June 2007.
  23. ^ Ian Burrell (17 October 2002). "Police killer will ask High Court to clear way for his release". London: The Independent. Retrieved 24 June 2007. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ a b Tim Adams (22 April 2001). "Jake's progress". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2007. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ Robson, Garry (2000). No One Likes Us, We Don't Care': The Myth and Reality of Millwall Fandom. Berg Publishers. p. 65. ISBN 1859733727.
  26. ^ Kray, Kate (1997). Lifers. Blake Publishing. pp. 97–98. ISBN 9781857821710.

See also

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