What have we learned about notorious prisoner Charles Bronson as he faces parole board?
One of the UK's longest-serving prisoners, Charles Bronson, who has spent nearly 50 years behind bars, is facing the third day of his public parole hearing on Friday.
The 70-year-old notorious inmate is making his latest bid for freedom in front of the Parole Board, which he likened to appearing on The Apprentice.
There has been a series of colourful revelations at his high-profile parole hearing this week, which took place at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes and was watched live on camera from afar by the press and public.
Bronson supporters, who want to see him freed from jail, gathered outside the court building ahead of the hearing.
But what have we learned so far about Bronson and his time behind bars? Here are some of the revelations...
Bronson, real name Michael Peterson, has spent most of the past 48 years behind bars, apart from two brief stints of freedom during which he reoffended, for a string of thefts, firearms and violent offences, including 11 hostage takings in nine different sieges. Victims included governors, doctors, staff and, on one occasion, his own solicitor.
He was handed a discretionary life sentence with a minimum term of four years in 2000 for taking a prison teacher at HMP Hull hostage for 44 hours. Since then, the Parole Board has repeatedly refused to direct his release.
His first conviction was in 1974 when he was 21 and was jailed for seven years for robbery, aggravated burglary, assault with intent to rob and possession of a firearm.
Bronson, who was once dubbed one of Britain’s most violent offenders, told how he was lured into crime at a young age, attracted by the “excitement” of stealing.
He changed his name to Charles Bronson in the 1980s as an alias dreamed up when he went into boxing – something he claims he was encouraged to do by notorious east London gangsters, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, with whom he said he served time.
A second name change came in 2014, when he adopted the surname Salvador which he said means “man of peace”, dismissing any suggested link to artist Salvador Dali.
“Bronson was a nasty bastard,” he said. “He wasn’t a nice person and I didn’t like him. Salvador is a man of peace. I feel peaceful.”
He claims he is "almost an angel now" compared with his old self and a "born again artist" - but admits he "loves a rumble" when questioned about several violent incidents behind bars a few years ago.
Life in prison
Sporting his trademark dark, round glasses and prominent moustache, the 70-year-old is now locked in his cell for 23 hours a day due to staff shortages.
Having spent much of his time behind bars in solitary confinement, he passes the time by listening to the radio and creating art. He also receives letters from 500 people, he says.
He also claimed he had been “betting for 50 years” while behind bars won £1,500 last year but was not an “addict”. The Ministry of Justice said gambling is against prison rules.
The inmate was previously diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder. Now he has mild symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, partly due to some “brutal and unacceptable treatment” while in the prison system, according to an independent psychologist hired by his legal team. He also has hearing difficulties.
In a sign of how long he has been incarcerated, Bronson has never used a cash machine and will need practical support if released, the psychologist said.
Bronson told the panel he has spent so much time in solitary confinement he wears dark glasses because his eyes are “blown away with the light”.
Past violence
Bronson has been described as “anti-authoritarian”, “suspicious” of other people’s motives and as someone who romanticises his past violent offences. He is prone to outbursts of swearing, being rude to people and becoming “loud and belligerent”, a psychologist told the hearing.
He told the parole panel he was “born to rumble” and spoke fondly of times where he became involved in brawls in jail.
The inmate described one incident, where he covered his naked body in Lurpak before facing prison guards, as the “rumble of my life”, adding: “It was f****** brilliant.”
Among incidents discussed during the proceedings, the Parole Board heard in 2015 he threw his own faeces at a prisoner and threatened to stab him because he called him an "old-age pensioner" and a "nobody".
Bronson told how he went through a “phase” where he “couldn’t stop taking hostages” and it was his way of “getting back” while “battling against the system.
He took 11 people hostage on nine different occasions.
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The inmate said he felt remorse for taking art teacher Phil Danielson hostage - but not the governor of Hull prison, Adrian Wallace, or three Iraqi inmates he held at Belmarsh.
“I was a horrible person and I couldn’t stop taking hostages," Bronson said. “I went through a phase, I couldn’t help taking hostages.
“I was battling against the system… it was my way of getting back.
“There’s nothing better than wrapping a governor up like a Christmas turkey.”
He said he was not ashamed of his protests when he climbed on to prison roofs because he was “fighting the penal system”. He enjoyed a description of himself as a "retired prison activist".
Catchphrases
Bronson's testimony was packed full of analogies, catchphrases and anecdotes, delivered in cockney-style patter, including: “I have had more porridge than Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and I’m sick of it. I’ve had enough of it, I want to go home.”
He happily discusses his hard-man image, claiming he once fought a Rottweiler and that prison was now “full of fairies” and run by “namby-pamby people”.
Despite acknowledging he had been “naughty” in the past, but not “naughty-naughty”, he now professes to be “anti-crime” and no longer violent.
He also likened facing the Parole Board panel to appearing on BBC television programme The Apprentice in front of “Lord Sugar”.
Bronson could be heard swearing frequently and sighing loudly early on in the proceedings.
Before he began giving evidence, he complained he was “getting bored of this” when his lawyer asked for a short break.
On the sometimes grainy live stream footage, Bronson, who had been sipping what appeared to be a small carton of juice through a straw, was seen briefly standing up during the hearing and began asking for a tissue.
“I haven’t pissed myself,” he told the hearing as he placed the tissue under the juice carton and sat back down.
Amid long pauses while the panel asked his prisoner offender manager questions, Bronson said: “We will be here all f****** day, won’t we?”
Life beyond bars
While Bronson says he used to find violence “cathartic”, he has since sought solace in his art and practises “deep breathing” to cope with negative feelings.
He dreams of walking on grass, having not being able to for over 30 years, and plans to live in the country if he is released.
Bronson describes himself as “just a normal geezer wanting to get on with his life," adding: “If some muppet wants to fight me or cause me problems I will handle it in a different way.”
In a plea to the Parole Board, he said it is his 95-year-old mother’s “last dream on this planet” to see him released from prison and “making an honest living with my art”.
The third and final day of the proceedings will take place behind closed doors on Friday so confidential details can be discussed.
The Parole Board will consider whether he should remain behind bars after the hearing, with a decision due at a later date.