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The gangster known as ‘Brown Bread Fred’ was one of London’s most feared criminals in the 1960s who ‘knew where the bodies were buried’
Kray Twins enforcer Freddie Foreman – known as ‘Brown Bread Fred’ – has died aged 94.
The gangster was one of the most feared criminals in the 1960s who ‘knew where the bodies were buried’. He had a close relationship with Ron and Reggie Kray throughout their reign, although in later years described his time with them as his “biggest regret”.
He was linked to countless murders and was once known as the Godfather of London. Foreman died in a West London nursing home after a short illness. His oldest son, Greg, was with him at the time.
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Foreman was born into poverty and began a life of crime in his early 20s selling stolen goods. He earned enough to fund a business empire that included a number of betting shops, a casino and a night club. He was introduced in the early 60s by her older brother Charlie and the Kray twins.
They formed a firm friendship with the twins and became known as their “enforcer”. Foreman and the Krays gang ruled the streets of East London for much of the 60s.
When Reggie Kray killed Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie in 1967 in a dispute over money, Foreman was convicted of helping the twins dispose of the body and sentenced to 10 years.
Foreman was later sentenced to nine years in 1990 for the then record £7 million Security Express heist. He had been on the run since the heist in 1983 but was caught by Spanish police on the Costa del Sol and brought back to Britain.
The father of three was released from prison in 1995 and became an author – writing eight books. The underworld legend was twice acquitted of murder at the Old Bailey – but later admitted carrying out both murders and disposing of their bodies at sea.
In January 1965, Foreman killed Tommy “Ginger” Marks, a friend of George “Jimmy” Evans, who had shot Foreman’s brother George a month earlier with a sawed-off shotgun.
He was cleared of murder but later admitted involvement, saying: “Alf drove the car past Marks and Evans.
“I pulled out a .38 and started shooting. The couple of them danced about like marionettes on a string. But Evans was a coward and used Marks as a shield.
In December of the following year, Foreman took part in the execution of Frank “The Mad Axeman” Mitchell, who had broken out of the Krays’ Dartmoor prison eleven days earlier. Like Ginger Marks, his body was never found.
Foreman said, “Taking Mitchell out of jail was like unleashing a rabid Rottweiler on the public. The twins got him cozy with a girl in an apartment, but he became a nuisance and had to go. Ron asked me to help as a personal favor.”
Reflecting on his life of crime, Foreman spoke of his grief over missing “sixteen birthdays and Christmases” away from his family in prison.
