Infamous Nottingham criminal Michael O'Brien has made a shocking confession from jail - he shot innocent shopfitter Marvyn Bradshaw more than 19 years ago. Speaking exclusively to Nottinghamshire Live from behind bars, 42-year-old O'Brien has accepted for the first time that he shot Mr Bradshaw, with the shocking words: "100% it was me".
O'Brien - whose parents, mum Joan and step-dad John Stirland, were murdered in a revenge conspiracy six days after he was jailed - was not in any way coerced, pressurised or tricked into admitting he committed one of the most horrendous crimes to rock Nottinghamshire and the world. It happened at the peak of gun crime in the county - besmirching its reputation and earning the city the dubious nickname "Shottingham" - days which police say are now behind us.
O'Brien spoke to us as we interviewed reformed ex-career criminal Marvin Herbert. Herbert is developing a project on forgiveness and working with O'Brien, whose case has been referred to the Parole Board for a hearing on March 20. O'Brien rang Herbert from prison as we were halfway through the interview - and he agreed to speak for the first time publicly about how he shot Mr Bradshaw in cold-blood in August 2003. The call was from a legal phone in O'Brien's cell, as he prepares for potential release on parole this year.
