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A long-lost tape has recently surfaced, on which the murderer says he dreams of travelling the world. And despite being one of Britain’s most notorious mobsters alongside twin Reggie, he claims he had always wanted to be liked rather than feared
Ronnie Kray wanted to put his gangland past behind him and retire to Morocco.
A long-lost tape has recently surfaced, on which the murderer says he dreams of travelling the world. And despite being one of Britain’s most notorious mobsters alongside twin Reggie, he claims he had always wanted to be liked rather than feared.
Speaking while incarcerated, Ronnie says: “I would like to get out and buy a house in the country with Reg, somewhere in Suffolk would be ideal. Somehow though, I don’t think it would be possible.
“I think the newspapers and tele-vision people and sightseers would probably make our lives hell. We’ll have to go and live abroad somewhere. I wouldn’t mind Morocco.”
We can also reveal a never-before-seen picture showing the East End villains in the North African country with fellow London gangster Billy Hill. The pair pose in swimming trunks for a snap with their pal in Tangier while on the run from police for murder.
Ron says: “It had been a wearying time so Reggie and I went away for a holiday in Morocco. We stayed with Billy Hill and his girlfriend Gypsy. We had a bloody marvellous time. Reg and I had some lovely visits to North Africa in the old days and we both love the sunshine.”
His remarks were unearthed by author and former TV presenter Fred Dinenage who found them on a broken old voice recorder in his loft – three decades after interviewing Ron.
The recorder had to be repaired before it would play. Fred, 82, was shocked when he realised his kids had recorded over the beginning of the chat.
Fred, who next month starts a tour talking about his encounters with the Krays, says: “I was asked by the presenter on stage if I had anything new or any more recordings for the show. So when I put the Christmas decorations back I searched around just in case and found this tape in the original recorder.”
Recorded in Broadmoor in the 1990s, Ron tells him: “I’d love to travel, I’d love to go to India and China. I’ve done a lot of reading since I’ve been here, particularly travel and exploring books, and those two countries really fascinate me. Reg and I often talk about going there. I’ll be very sad if I never get to see India and China.
“I’d also like to go to Russia but I’d make that the last place I visited, just in case the KGB have heard of the Krays.”
In reality neither of the Kray twins were ever free to travel after being jailed for life for murder in 1969. Their victims included crook George Cornell – shot in a pub by Ron – and one of their own thugs, Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie, who was stabbed by Reg.
Ronnie was certified and died of a heart attack in Broadmoor aged 61 in 1995, while Reg died five years later of cancer weeks after being let out of jail on compassionate grounds. However, in his chat with Fred, Ron insists he is safe to be let out – if he has someone to administer his drugs.
He says: “I’d even pay the authorities to provide someone to supervise me at home. I wouldn’t want to kill again, and I wouldn’t want to go back to crime.”
He claims he sleeps “very well” in Broadmoor, adding: “I dream a lot – some nice dreams, some not so nice.” Ronnie reveals he is no fan of the 1990 film The Krays, in which he and Reggie were depicted by Spandau Ballet idols Martin and Gary Kemp.
He believes it portrays them as more violent than they really were and is unhappy that it includes machine guns, which he says they never used. In the recording, he says: “In the film, and advertising the film, it said Ronnie Kray said that you can do anything if people fear you. But I’ve never said that. We were always trying to be respected, me and Reggie. I believed we are now.
“We want to be respected, we never wanted people to fear us. I never said, ‘You can do anything if people fear you’ because I don’t believe that. I believe people do more for you if they like you and they respect you than they do out of fear.”
Ronnie also tells how he and Reggie did not seek revenge against Cornell’s widow when she attacked their family home in Bethnal Green, East London. And he says they also spared a barmaid who police persuaded to give evidence against them.
Ron explains: “One night Cornell’s widow came around and broke some windows and called us murderers. Our mother was upset and so too was Mrs Cornell. That is why we let her off with damaging our house – something that no one else would have got away with.”
Speaking about the barmaid, he adds: “She was a very silly girl but also a very lucky one. But Reggie and I never hurt women and kids, no matter what the provocation. We only ever hurt other villains but even they, once we were arrested, were let off.”
Ronnie says as soon as he and Reggie were arrested they decided to turn their backs on crime for ever. He adds: “It’s as though we suddenly decided enough was enough.”