The ex-wife of Charles Bronson has spoken out for his release from prison ahead of a parole hearing
For decades, he has carried the reputation of being Britain’s most dangerous prisoner.
But Charles Bronson’s ex-wife says the 73-year-old now just wants to get out and ‘paint with real paintbrushes’.
Irene Dunroe, also 73, has spoken out calling for his release ahead of an anticipated parole hearing which could come later this year.
Bronson, who now goes by Charles Salvador, is serving an indefinite sentence and is known for his historically violent outbursts behind bars.
But Irene insists her former partner is a changed man, who sends her artwork and calls her every day.
She told the Liverpool Echo: “Even the prison guards joke with him, they have a laugh with him, he just wants to get out of prison. He can’t wait to live a proper life and paint with real paintbrushes.”
Irene stresses she only refers to him as Mick, referring to his real name Mick Peterson which he changed after they separated. She claims ‘no one will ever understand’ their dynamics as she has never been able to get away from him – despite the fact he has spent little-to-no time out of prison since his first conviction of armed robbery in 1974.
Irene, who now lives in Barnston in Wirral, said: “It doesn’t seem like 50 years ago [he went to prison], it feels like a week or two ago. It’s not like a normal divorce where you finish and never know them again, Mick has always been in the newspapers, I’ve never got away from it. No one will understand what our relationship is like.”
Irene and Bronson first met at the age of 19 and went on to get married and have a son, Michael, together. They lived together in Little Sutton before his arrest. The couple’s marriage came just two years before Bronson was jailed for the first time in 1974 – but it wasn’t until he was sentenced in court that Irene said she found out about the crimes he had committed.
She said: “We got married really young and had our son, Mike, who’s the spitting image of Mick. We were happy together but then Mike started disappearing and he never used to tell me anything about what he was doing but I really never knew a thing. He would disappear for a week or two at a time and we didn’t have mobile phones at the time so I couldn’t find out where he was.
“I would go out with the pram and we would walk round for miles. Then we he would just come back and say he stayed with a friend because he had a really bad hangover. I would just believe him, I never knew what he was really up to. It wasn’t until he was in crown court and they just listed one after another of all the things he’d done, I couldn’t believe it.”
While serving time in Walton Prison, Bronson attacked a fellow prisoner with a glass jug and had an extra nine months added to his sentence for unlawful wounding.
His violent behaviour continued and during 1975 to 1977 he was moved around prisons, spending the majority of time in isolation. This included an incident in 1976, while serving time in Wandsworth prison, which saw him try to poison the prisoner in the next cell.
After that he was transferred to Parkhurst, which is where he befriended the Kray twins, before being moved back to Wandsworth. In Wandsworth his hatred for the prison system continued and he attacked two prison officers, reportedly scarring one for life. And after a suicide attempt he was moved to Broadgreen Hospital and sectioned under the Mental Health Act. While at Broadgreen in 1982, Bronson performed a number of rooftop protests causing £250,000 worth of damage.
His third roof protest was in 1984, which he followed with an 18-day-long hunger strike, after which he was transferred to Ashworth Hospital, where another three years were added to his sentence after he attacked a patient. In 1985 he was sent back to Walton Prison, but quickly broke the rules again, causing £100,000 worth of damage after another rooftop protest. He was continually moved prison’s throughout his original seven year sentence, before his release in 1988.
When he was released, Bronson changed his name to Charles Bronson – to suit his career as a boxer. But it wasn’t long until he was back behind bars again after he robbed a jewellery shop in 1988 and was sentenced to seven more years inside.
Back inside, Bronson was back to his old tricks and again transferred to several prisons in a bid to control his behaviour. It is understood he was himself attacked in one of the prisons, before his release in November 1992. After just 53 days of freedom he returned to prison again for intent to commit robbery.
In 1996, he took three inmates hostage at Belmarsh prison in London and insisted they call him ‘General’. He told negotiators he would eat one of his victims before demanding a helicopter to Cuba along with a cheese and pickle sandwich to end the stand off. But it wasn’t until an incident in 1999 that he was finally given a life sentence. He kidnapped prison art teacher Phil Danielson and held him hostage for nearly two days after he criticised one of his paintings.
Since then, Bronson’s wait for freedom has been long and painful, with Irene explained how she believes it’s the treatment of her ex-husband that has led to his violent outbursts over the decades. But in his older years, she says Bronson has become invested in his artwork, spending 23 hours a day in solitary confinement painting.
Bronson has even donated his artwork to charities and in 2014, he sold several pieces of his artwork. At the time he said he planned to use his art to support charities going forward.
Irene now regularly receives pieces of his work, with the pensioner – who Irene claims is extremely fit and doing up to 1,000 sit ups a day – sending her and their son Mike, 52, paintings.
The prisoner was due to face a parole board in March this year but it was pushed back, with Irene saying she believes it will now take place at the end of the year, with Bronson adamant he will make it out of prison before his death. The former bare-knuckle boxer was previously denied parole in March 2023.
Speaking about what her former lover will do when he eventually feels the fresh air of freedom, mum-of-three Irene said: “He wants to live in the country, near a beach, in a little cottage. We’ve made so many plans together.
“We’re going to go out and have some days out together. Mick used to love his clothes, he used to have his suits made to measure. You didn’t wear jeans and a t-shirt go back out then, he used to always wear a suit.
“Mick said he can’t wait to go to the shop and get lots of new suits. He can’t wait to go out with Mike, he wants to take him out for a pint because they’ve never had that.”
It was just a few weeks ago when Irene last visited Bronson at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire where Bronson joked they could re-marry each other, although Irene was quick to play it down. “I’m 73 and he is 73 as well, you get past all of that,” Irene said.
“You just want to go home and get in your pyjamas. We both like our own space.”
Irene has now written a book with Bronson and the help of author Julie Shaw. Bronson: Inside and Out By Julie Shaw, Irene Dunroe and Charles Bronson (Mirror Books, £9.99)
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