Britain's most notorious prisoner Charles Bronson has been moved to HMP Wakefield, known as Monster Mansion, at a time when he is preparing for what could be his final attempt to secure release after more than 50 years behind bars.
Bronson, 73, was transferred last week from Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire to the high-security facility in West Yorkshire, which houses some of the country's most dangerous convicted criminals. Prison officers at Wakefield are said to be deeply worried about his placement there after he was put back into solitary confinement and had his art materials taken away.
A source familiar with the situation said nobody inside the prison could understand why the transfer had happened at such a sensitive time. The source said Bronson's passion for painting is well known and that removing his pens and paints has raised fears he will react badly to the conditions.
His ex-wife Irene Dunroe, 63, who remains in regular contact with Bronson and refers to him by his real name Mick Peterson, said she was appalled by the decision. She said he had been placed in a cell within a cell in an underground section of the prison. She described the move as a deliberate attempt to unsettle him ahead of his oral parole hearing and said prison authorities were "stretching the elastic to see how far they can make it break."
That hearing marks a significant step forward in his case. Earlier this year his application moved beyond a written assessment to a full hearing where witnesses can be questioned and evidence examined in person. Bronson himself has expressed deep frustration with the process, telling a British outlet that he has been held beyond his tariff for more than two decades and continues to be denied any meaningful progress towards release.
Who is Charles Bronson?
Bronson was born Michael Gordon Peterson in 1952. He received his first prison sentence at 22 for armed robbery and was freed in 1987 before returning to custody the following year after committing another offence. Violence against staff and inmates repeatedly added years to his sentence. A hostage-taking incident involving a prison art teacher in 1999 led to a life term and he was convicted of assaulting a prison governor as recently as 2014.
It was during an earlier stay at Wakefield that officers persuaded him to try drawing. That introduction to art eventually became central to his identity. He changed his name to Charles Salvador in 2014 in honour of the artists who inspired him and later set up a foundation to promote his work and support others in difficult circumstances.
He has now spent more than 12 years without a violent incident which those in his corner see as proof of real change. The Parole Board rejected his application in 2023 and this upcoming hearing is his ninth attempt to walk free.
Wakefield also holds serial killer Robert Maudsley. Soham murderer Ian Huntley spent time there before dying earlier this year after being attacked by another inmate.
The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on his case.
