Most notorious British villain says “violence not his business”, seeks freedom

Britain's most notorious prisoner Charles Bronson has claimed he's “not violent” as the lag begs for his freedom.

The infamous jailbird has spent nearly 50 years behind bars, and claims over the past five years he has made exceptional progress by not adding to the list of violent attacks on prison staff, Daily Star reports.

Now he has claimed it is a "liberty" he is still locked up because he's never "raped or murdered anyone".

Bronson's solicitor has argued in a letter to Justice Secretary Dominic Raab that the 70-year-old prisoner has mellowed with age.

He also wants his plea for freedom to be heard in public following his legal team's landmark win in the High Court which ruled in favour of a prisoner's right to a public parole hearing.

Speaking about his long-term stay behind bars in an audio message from his cell at Woodhill jail, Bronson told Sky News it was "an absolute liberty".

"I've never murdered anyone; I've never raped anyone," he said. "What am I in jail for? People don't believe it. They think I'm a serial killer."

Bronson was born Michael Peterson but now goes by Charles Salvador as a mark of respect to Salvador Dali, one of his favourite artists.

Speaking about his parole hearing he said: "I'm the first man in Britain to have a public one (parole hearing) and the reason I'm doing that is I'm going to expose the system for what it's done to me.

"It's all coming out in the wash, my side of the story, and the truth is mate, it's going to shock the planet."

Bronson was initially jailed for seven years for armed robbery in 1974. With the exception of two brief periods of freedom, other robberies and violent attacks on prison staff have kept him behind bars for almost 50 years.

In 1999, he took a terrified art teacher, who had criticised his drawing ability, hostage in Hull Prison and, wielding a homemade spear and a broken bottle, he tugged him along with a skipping rope around his neck for two days.

He was given a life sentence with a minimum term of three years and has been turned down for parole ever since.

Three years ago, Bronson stood trial and was acquitted on a charge of attempted grievous bodily harm to a governor at Wakefield Prison.