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| Train robber Biggs wins freedom | Train robber Biggs wins freedom |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs has been granted release from his prison sentence on compassionate grounds, Justice Secretary Jack Straw has said. | Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs has been granted release from his prison sentence on compassionate grounds, Justice Secretary Jack Straw has said. |
| He explained that the decision was based on medical evidence that Biggs's condition had deteriorated and he was not expected to recover. | He explained that the decision was based on medical evidence that Biggs's condition had deteriorated and he was not expected to recover. |
| Biggs is severely ill in hospital with pneumonia and doctors have said there is "not much hope" for him. | Biggs is severely ill in hospital with pneumonia and doctors have said there is "not much hope" for him. |
| Biggs, 79, was refused parole by Mr Straw last month. | Biggs, 79, was refused parole by Mr Straw last month. |
| He rejected a recommendation by the Parole Board which said the risk Biggs posed was "manageable". | He rejected a recommendation by the Parole Board which said the risk Biggs posed was "manageable". |
| Lawyer for Mr Biggs Giovanni Di Stefano described Biggs's release as a victory for common sense. | |
| The inmate of Norwich Prison, who is serving a 30-year sentence, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in June suffering from a chest infection and was readmitted on Tuesday. | |
| Ronnie Biggs is serving a 30-year prison sentence | |
| Mr Straw said: "The medical evidence clearly shows that Mr Biggs is very ill and that his condition has deteriorated recently, culminating in his readmission to hospital. | |
| "His condition is not expected to improve | |
| "It is for that reason that I am granting Mr Biggs compassionate release on medical grounds. | |
| "I have therefore been satisfied that the relevant conditions have been met, which I was not in respect of the recommendation for parole." | |
| The decision means Biggs will spend his 80th birthday on Saturday as a free man. | |
| It will be 46 years to the day since the Great Train Robbery, near Cheddington in Buckinghamshire. |