Everybody has heard of the Kray twins. They were notorious gangsters in and around London. Their rule of their underworld was tight, robust and unshakable.

Reggie [1933-2000] and Ronnie [1933-1995] were identical twins who lived in the East End of London. They ruled the London underworld with a grip of iron. They had a grip of fear amongst local communities and were respected throughout the criminal world. This was mainly in the 1960s, but their exploits have become legend throughout Britain and most of the world.

They ran a long-term protection racket in and around London. Locals were caught up in their rackets and often submitted to their rules rather than suffer the consequences of dispute. They were renowned for their like of violence, and this stemmed partly from them both being professional boxers from an early age. They were even dishonorably discharged from the Army in the 1950s. They didn’t like authority or discipline.

They were responsible for a long line of beatings and murders especially in the 1960s. They had a number of friends in the police force in Britain, and because of this a long investigation by Detective Superintendent Leonard “Nipper” Read was forced to be held with the stringent secrecy.

They were eventually both sentenced to imprisonment. Ronnie had a heart attack in 1995 and died, and Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds in the year 2000. This was after a 30-year sentence. London is still ruled, or at least affected, by power and corruption, but not by any so notorious as the Kray Twins.