Charles Bronson has never used a cash machine and will need practical support if released, his parole hearing has been told.
Bronson, Britain’s most notorious prisoner, is appearing in front of the Parole Board in his latest bid for freedom, after spending most of the past 48 years behind bars.
An independent psychologist employed by Bronson’s legal team told the hearing that the 70-year-old has post-traumatic stress disorder after facing some “brutal and unacceptable” treatment in prison.
She said that Bronson, who has since changed his surname to Salvador, has been held in “very solitary conditions for a long period of time” and that a move from the close supervision unit where he is held is “long overdue”.
“I believe that Mr Salvador poses less of a risk in a community environment than in a prison environment, and I stand by that assessment.
“Of course, I’m talking about a highly supportive community environment and I’m talking about a gradual move into a community environment,” she said.
Bronson's a 'real level of dislike for authority figures'
Bronson was first jailed in 1974 for armed robbery. However, a string of violent offences committed while in custody means he has spent most of the past decade behind bars.
He was handed a discretionary life sentence in 2000 for taking Phil Danielson, a prison art teacher, hostage with a makeshift spear in a siege that lasted two days.
Bronson is currently being held in the close supervision centre at Woodhill Prison, near Milton Keynes. He is locked in his cell for 23 hours a day and only mixes with three other inmates, the panel previously heard.
The psychologist added that his past violence towards prison staff was fuelled by a dislike of authority figures, but this does not extend to members of the public.
“His use of violence towards staff members has been almost a matter of survival,” she said. “He's got that real level of dislike for authority figures.
“I don’t think he has that for members of the public.”
Wearing a black T-shirt with white writing on it, along with his trademark dark, round glasses, Bronson could be seen rocking his chair backwards and forwards as the psychologist gave evidence.
Bronson is still in touch with his 95-year-old mother, whom he calls “the duchess”. He said it is her wish to see him released.
“You people have got the power to let me out, that’s my mum’s last dream on this planet, to see her son outside, doing well, making an honest living with my art, as you know I’m anti-crime,” he told the panel on the first day of his hearing.
“If you’ve got any heart, any compassion, give it to my mum and make an old lady’s dream come true.”
He also told the Parole Board panel on the first day of the hearing: “I’ve had 11 hostages, I’m not proud of it but I’m not ashamed of it. Am I sorry? Maybe. Would I do it again, definitely not?”
Three parole judges - who have not been publicly named - are considering his case at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, while members of the press and public watch the proceedings on a live stream from the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London.
It is only the second such hearing in British history to be open to the press and public.
