GREAT train robber Ronnie Biggs evaded justice for 35 years after going on the
run – but in 2001 he sensationally asked The Sun to bring him home.
We were by his side for the extraordinary week in May 2001 which saw him bid
farewell to his home in Brazil and set foot on British soil for the first
time in over a quarter of a century.
Biggs had served just 15 months of his 30-year sentence for the heist when he
scaled the walls of Wandsworth Prison and jumped onto a waiting van in July
1965.
From there he fled to Paris, paying £40,000 for plastic surgery from his
£143,000 share of the £2.5million stolen by the robbery gang.
The fugitive then travelled to Australia, moving to a different location
whenever he caught wind that police were closing in on him.
Eventually, he escaped on a passenger liner to Panama, arriving in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil – a country that did not have an extradition treaty with the
UK – in 1970.
Efforts were made in the 1990s by the British government, appealing to Brazil
for his extradition.
However, the Brazilian government rejected the request in 1997, even though
Biggs had revealed he’d no longer oppose extradition.
The ruling meant he was entitled to spend the rest of his life in the South
American country.
Four years later, he was ready to give himself up to British authorities –
after decades on the run.
Biggs told The Sun in a world exclusive interview that he’d be willing to
return to the UK – despite knowing he’d be arrested when he arrived…
He told us: “I’ll face whatever punishment the authorities give me.”
Biggs, who was 71, added: “I hope they will show mercy.”
David Yelland, editor of The Sun at the time, called the Foreign Secretary at
the time to secure a one-way passport.
Such was the secrecy surrounding the scoop, photographer Harry Page was only
informed of his assignment once he’d landed in Rio.
The crook is snapped smiling as he bid farewell to Brazil, posing in front of
the iconic statue of Christ…
One day later, the private jet The Sun flew out in to pick Biggs up was
splashed across the front page…
That was followed by the triumphant headline “GOT HIM” accompanied by a
picture of frail Biggs – wearing a Sun T-shirt – on his journey back to
Blighty…
On May 8, Biggs was photographed stepping off the plane at RAF Northolt
alongside the headline “THE END”…
He was immediately arrested and re-imprisoned.
Biggs stayed behind bars until August 6, 2009, when he released on
compassionate grounds due to his ailing health.
He died today, aged 84, at a care home in London following a long illness.