Charles Bronson: Who is he and why has he been in prison for so long?

Charles Bronson, one of Britain’s most notorious and longest-serving prison inmates, will launch a bid for freedom at a public parole hearing today.

The 70-year-old who was originally jailed in 1974 - became the first prisoner to formally ask for a public hearing after rules changed last year.

Bronson, who changed his surname to Salvador in 2014 after the artist Salvador Dali, claims to be a changed man and believes the art he has been creating in prison has helped rehabilitate him.

Who is Charles Bronson?

The notorious prisoner was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, in December 1952 as Michael Peterson.

One of two brothers, he was from a respectable family and was said to be a well-adjusted boy who enjoyed school and got on well with classmates.

"As a boy, he was a lovely lad. He was obviously bright and always good with children," his aunt Eileen Parry told the BBC in 2000. She added: "He was gentle and mild-mannered, never a bully – he would defend the weak."

He started getting into trouble as a teenager when his family moved to Cheshire, and was already part of a gang of thieves by 13, which saw him reprimanded in a juvenile court after he was caught stealing.

He enjoyed fighting from an early age, and was often absent from school.

At 19, he was arrested over a smash-and-grab robbery. The judge gave him a suspended sentence.

Just a few years later he was behind bars.

Why has he been in prison for so long?

Bronson was first jailed aged 22 in 1974 for armed robbery and wounding.

Since then he has only had brief spells out of prison and is believed to spend much of his time in solitary confinement.

He has become notorious for attacks on prison staff and other inmates and has spent periods detained in the Rampton, Broadmoor and Ashworth high-security psychiatric hospitals.

In 1975 he attacked a fellow prisoner with a glass jug and in 1985 he carried out a three-day rooftop protest.

In 1994, Bronson held a prison librarian hostage and demanded an inflatable doll, a helicopter and a cup of tea as ransom.

Four years later, he took three inmates hostage at Belmarsh Prison in London.

Then 12 months on, he took a prison education worker hostage for 44 hours at HMP Hull and was sentenced to a discretionary life term, with a minimum of four years.

He received a further two-year jail term in 2014 for holding a prison governor in a headlock at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.

In 2017 he was refused parole while an inmate at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire.

A year later, he was cleared of trying to seriously harm a prison governor.

He is currently detained in Woodhill Prison near Milton Keynes and labelled as a Category A prisoner, due to his risk to staff and inmates.

The hearing as to whether Bronson should remain behind bars began today (March 6) at the Royal Courts of Justice and will continue on Wednesday.

During the hearing, Bronson is likely to argue he is reformed, and is now ‘anti-crime’ and ‘anti-violent.’

In a recent Channel 4 documentary, Bronson acknowledged his violent past but insisted he is no longer a threat to society. “I’m focused, I’m settled, I can actually smell and taste freedom like I’ve never, ever done in (my) life. I’m now anti-crime, anti-violent,” he said.

Bronson the boxer

During his short-lived time on the outside, Bronson had a brief stint as an illegal bare-knuckle boxer in east London.

His promoter thought he needed a more suitable name and suggested he change it from Michael Peterson to Charles Bronson in 1987, after the American actor.

He claims to have killed a rottweiler with his bare hands in a £10,000 underground fight.

Later he said that this was "not something I’m proud of because I love animals."

He was returned to prison in 1988 after being convicted of planning another robbery.

Bronson the author and artist

Bronson has written many books about his experiences and the famous prisoners he has met throughout his incarceration.

A self-declared fitness fanatic who has spent many years in segregation (solitary confinement), Bronson dedicated a book to exercising in confined spaces.

Bronson’s paintings and illustrations of prison and psychiatric hospital life have been publicly exhibited and won him multiple awards.

In 2014, he changed his name again, this time to Charles Salvador, in a mark of respect to Salvador Dalí, one of his favourite artists.

The Charles Salvador Art Foundation was founded to promote his artwork and "help those in positions even less fortunate than his own" to participate in art.

He has been featured in books, interviews, and studies in prison reform and treatment.

He was the subject of the 2008 film Bronson starring Tom Hardy, a biopic based loosely on his life.