Was the krays gay
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They were convicted and sent to a military prison. Some people felt they had to go,’ he said.
‘If they hadn't been nicked then they would have gone missing very soon afterwards – for ever.’
Ronnie and Reggie Kray were in the organised crime scene in the London's East End during 50s and 60s
Talented amateur boxers, the pair developed a reputation in the East End by the time they were 21
Foreman, who was convicted of disposing of the body of Jack ‘the Hat’ McVitie, also offered first-hand advice to actor Tom Hardy on Thursday during filming for the new movie.
He told Mr Hardy that Reggie often had a ‘quizzical look’ while Ronnie would ‘stare into space’.
The pensioner admitted that Hardy had ‘nailed the part’ and said it was like being with a Kray twin in the flesh.
The twins were born on October 24, 1933 and grew up in a slum area of Bethnal Green.
Talented amateur boxers, the pair developed a reputation in the East End by the time they were 21.
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READ MORE: London's notorious female gangster who terrorised the city with her glamorous gang of women criminalsREAD MORE: ITV Secret of the Krays: Ronnie and Reggie's life of crime may have been extraordinary but the gangsters both died in a really normal wayRonnie Kray
He spent three years in Maidstone Prison, four cells along the landing from Reggie Kray.
The twins were born in Hoxton and the family moved to Bethnal Green in 1938. In 1968 the brothers were both convicted of the murders, and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 30 years. Our journalists cover all the news you need - from City Hall to your local streets, so you'll never miss a moment.
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The author said: “Homosexuality was nothing to be proud of in the East End.
“But as they became more notorious, Ronnie became quite shameless about it.
“According to Ron in the early days they had sex with each other because they were terrified about people finding out.”
Mr Pearson wrote three books on the Krays, including their 'official' biography The Profession of Violence, which was said to be the second most popular book in H.M.'s prisons after the Bible.
The author claimed Ronnie Kray disclosed the shocking secret during one of their interviews, but didn't reveal it until after both twins had died, for fear of retribution.
Ronnie died of a heart attack in Broadmoor secure hospital in 1995, and five years later Reggie also died, of cancer, after being released from prison on compassionate grounds.
Mr Pearson said the twins discovered they were gay during their adolescence, adding: “Given their identical genetic make-up, it was virtually inevitable that if one twin was, the other would be too.”
He wrote: “It was hardly surprising that, for the time being, both the twins kept their sexual preferences to themselves.
“According to Ron, for quite a while they were so concerned to keep their secret hidden that the only sex they had was with each other.”
The Krays ran a notorious criminal network in the 60s, with an empire of nightclubs and a reputation of fear built on hijacking, armed robbery and arson.
The police eventually caught up with the twin brothers, who went to prison for murdering fellow gangsters George Cornell and Jack McVitie.
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The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners. He thought someone else was coming in to separate the them, and he did not want to be separated from Reggie."
The Krays' rule came to an end when they were arrested by a team of Scotland Yard detectives, led by Leonard 'Nipper' Read.
It was also rumoured that the Labour MP Tom Driberg had had a relationship with Ronnie.[3][4]
In 1966, Ronnie Kray shot and killed George Cornell, an associate of the rival Richardsons gang, in the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel; in 1967, Reggie Kray fatally stabbed a minor member of the Kray gang, Jack "the Hat" McVitie.
After opening a club in Mile End, they began demanding money from criminals, and by the early 1960s they were making up to the equivalent of £10million every year.
They were jailed for life in March 1969, when their crimes caught up with them.
Ronnie was 61 when he died of a heart attack at Broadmoor Hospital in 1995 while Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2000 after he was diagnosed with cancer.
Legend, which is written and directed by Brian Helgeland, is planned for release in 2015.
Tom Hardy plays both twins in the new film of their life Legend and is pictured during filming in East London
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Ms Flanagan told the Today Programme: "When she first came on the scene, the first reaction from Ronnie was jealousy. Reggie always denied what many suspected - that he was also attracted to men. That poor girl was a trophy wife, nothing more.’
Frances, who was 16 when she met Reggie, married him in 1965 but two years after their wedding, she committed suicide aged 23.
After the honeymoon in Athens she moved back in with her mother and is said to have tried to end their marriage after eight months.
Bradley Allardyce, one of Reggie’s prison friends, later claimed he had told him that Ronnie had murdered Frances by forcing her to swallow pills.
Freddie 'Brown Bread' Foreman worked closely with the Krays and revealed their secrets to Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy and Emily Browning film a wedding scene for new film 'Legend' in south-east London
Tom Hardy films scenes for his new movie 'Legend' in the East End of London with co-star Emily Browning
Legend, which is written and directed by Brian Helgeland, is planned for release in 2015
Speaking of the new movie, entitled Legend, Foreman said: ‘The film apparently has Reggie looking out of his prison window and saying ‘I love you Frances’.
In 1979 Ronnie was certified insane, and transferred to Broadmoor Hospital. So strong was their trust that just before Allardyce's release, Kray gave him photos and letters. She saw first hand how Ronnie despised her.
One night in prison Reggie Kray revealed to Allardyce the crime that haunted him the most: the apparent suicide of his first wife. Both denied they were more than just friends, until now.