On this day… 4 March 1969

02Kray twins guilty of McVitie murder

The Kray twins, Ronald and Reginald, are facing life sentences after being found guilty of murder at the Central Criminal Court, (Old Bailey)

After the longest and most expensive ever trial at the Old Bailey the jury in the case of Reggie and Ronnie Kray deliberated for six hours and 55 minutes before returning the unanimous guilty verdict for the murder of Jack McVitie. Christopher and Anthony Lambrianou and Ronald Bender were also found guilty of murder. Ronald Kray and John Barrie were also convicted of murdering George Cornell.

Anthony Barry was found not guilty of murder and discharged. Albert Donaghue who pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder earlier in the trial will be sentenced tomorrow. The Kray’s elder brother, Charles, Frederick Foreman and Cornelius Whitehead were all found guilty of being accessories to the murder of Mr McVitie.

The judge, Mr Justice Melford Stevenson, will pass sentence tomorrow. The accused were brought up into the dock one by one to hear the jury’s verdict. The Old Bailey trial has lasted 39 days so far. In the dock were 10 men, the judge tried to make them wear numbers to make life easier for the jury, but the twins just ripped them off. The court was told how Ronald Kray shot dead George Cornell in front of customers at the Blind Beggar pub in the East End in 1966 for calling him a “fat poof”.

It also heard how Jack “The Hat” McVitie was repeatedly stabbed by Reginald Kray in a north London flat while his brother held him down. Their elder brother, Charles, was convicted of helping to dispose of the body.

George Cornell

Ronnie Kray shot and killed George Cornell in the Blind Beggar pub in Whitechapel on 9 March 1966. Ronnie was drinking in another pub when he heard that Cornell was in the Blind Beggar. Taking Reggie’s driver John “Scotch Jack” Dickson and Ian Barrie, his right-hand man, he then killed Cornell. Just before Cornell died, he remarked “Well, look who’s here.” There had been a confrontation at Christmas 1965 between the Krays and the Richardsons at the Astor Club, when Cornell, an associate of the Richardsons, referred to Ronnie as a “fat poof”. However, Ronnie denied this and said that the reason for the killing was because he was threatening him and Reggie.

The result was a gang war between the two, and Kray associate Richard Hart was murdered at Mr. Smith’s Club in Catford on 8 March 1966. Ronnie avenged Hart’s death by shooting Cornell. “Mad” Frankie Fraser was taken to court for Hart’s murder but was found not guilty. A member of the Richardsons gang claimed that he saw him kicking Hart. Cornell was the only one to escape from the brawl in top condition so it is likely that Ronnie thought that he was involved in the murder. Owing to intimidation, witnesses would not cooperate with the police.

Jack “The Hat” McVitie

The Krays’ criminal activities continued hidden behind their celebrity status and “legitimate” businesses. In October 1967, four months after the suicide of his wife Frances, Reggie was alleged to have been encouraged by his brother to kill Jack “The Hat” McVitie, a minor member of the Kray gang who had failed to fulfil a £1,500 contract paid to him in advance by the Krays to kill Leslie Payne. McVitie was lured to a basement flat in Evering Road, Stoke Newington on the pretence of a party. As he entered, Reggie Kray pointed a handgun at his head and pulled the trigger twice, but the gun failed to discharge. Ronnie Kray then held McVitie in a bearhug and Reggie Kray was handed a carving knife. He stabbed McVitie in the face and stomach, driving it deep into his neck, twisting the blade, continuing as McVitie lay on the floor dying.

Arrest and trial

When Inspector Leonard “Nipper” Read of Scotland Yard was promoted to the Murder Squad, his first assignment was to bring down the Kray twins, but frequently came up against the East End “wall of silence”.Nevertheless, by the end of 1967 Read had built up evidence against the Krays. Witness statements incriminated them, as well as other evidence.

Eventually, a Scotland Yard conference decided to arrest the Krays on the evidence already collected, in the hope that other witnesses would be forthcoming once the Krays were in custody. On 8 May 1968, the Krays and 15 other members of their “firm” were arrested. Many witnesses came forward now that the Krays’ reign of intimidation was over, and it was relatively easy to gain a conviction.

Anthony Barry was found not guilty of murder and discharged. Albert Donaghue who pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder earlier in the trial will be sentenced tomorrow.

The Kray’s elder brother, Charles, Frederick Foreman and Cornelius Whitehead were all found guilty of being accessories to the murder of Mr McVitie.

The judge, Mr Justice Melford Stevenson, will pass sentence tomorrow.