A CRIMINAL HISTORY OF MANKIND

The twins decided that it might be diplomatic to retire from the London scene for a while. They
bought a large house in Suffolk, close to Hadleigh, a village to which they had been evacuated
during the war, and there began to live the life of country squires. They provided the parish church
with a new roof, bought a donkey for the village children, and generally behaved with discretion
and good humour.
The Krays were convinced that no one would dare to give the police information about their
activities. They were right. Police investigating the murder of Cornell and the disappearance of
McVitie - and rumours that the twins had also been responsible for the disappearance of an escaped
prisoner known as ‘the Mad Axeman’ - met with terrified silence. But the police had time - and
manpower - on their side. Commander John du Rose of Scotland Yard decided to form a special
team, whose headquarters would be in Tintagel House, a police office block overlooking the river
at Lambeth. It was du Rose who had been chiefly responsible for ending the reign of the Messina
brothers. He placed Detective Superintendent ‘Nipper’ Read in charge of the team. They used spies
and informers, and even policewomen disguised as charladies. Houses were kept under constant
surveillance, and members of the ‘Firm’ (as the gang was known) were shadowed. In May 1968, du
Rose decided they had enough evidence to proceed. At dawn on 8 May a squad of sixty-eight men
made surprise raids in the East End. They found Reginald Kray in bed with a blonde girl and
Ronald in bed with a youth. Others who were arrested were the Lambrianou brothers, John Barrie
(who had been with Ronnie when he shot Cornell), Frederick Foreman and Charles Kray. In
January 1969, eleven men stood in the dock at the Old Bailey.
The long list of charges included three murders: George Cornell, Jack McVitie and ‘the Mad
Axeman’, Frank Mitchell. Mitchell, like McVitie, had simply vanished; but evidence pointed to the
Krays, who had arranged his escape from Dartmoor in December 1966.
Frank Mitchell was a simple-minded giant who had started life in a home for sub-normal children,
and had been constantly in trouble throughout his life - mostly for burglary. He had escaped several
times from prisons and mental institutions; on one occasion, he had tried to attack a magistrate, and
although he was manacled, it had taken twelve men to subdue him. After an escape from the
Rampton mental hospital, he had stolen two hatchets - hence the nickname. After nine years in
Dartmoor, he was a ‘trusty’, and was allowed out with working parties; he used to stroll into pubs
and take bottles back into Dartmoor. Because he was easygoing and good tempered when he was
not crossed, the prison authorities found it easier to allow him to do as he liked. But when there
seemed to be no prospect of release after nine years, Mitchell decided to escape. This was not
difficult, since he was often out all day. By the time his absence was noticed, Mitchell was sitting
in front of the fire in a flat in Barking Road, east London, watching the news of his escape on
television. The flat had been provided by the Krays. They also provided a pretty club hostess
named Liza Prescott to share his bed.
The authorities used newspapers to ask Mitchell to give himself up. Members of the Kray ‘firm’
cautiously negotiated with the Home Office, on the understanding that Mitchell would be
considered for parole if he surrendered. But when Mitchell was consulted, he announced he had no
intention of surrendering. He was sick of jail, and he was enjoying freedom and a normal sex life.
The Krays became aware that he was going to be a severe embarrassment.
On 23 December 1966, eleven days after the escape, a Kray henchman called at the flat and asked
Mitchell to go with him; Mitchell kissed Liza Prescott - who had become fond of him - and left. A
few minutes later she heard muffled bangs from outside. The prosecution alleged that Mitchell had