Ronald Knight (20 January 1934 – 12 June 2023) was an English convicted criminal and nightclub owner. He became well-known through his marriage to the actress

Barbara Windsor Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''.

. On 4 January 1995, 16 days prior to his 61st birthday, Knight was sentenced to seven years

imprisonment Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

for handling £314,813 in stolen money from the 1983 £6 million armed robbery at a Security Express depot in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

, East London.

Early life

Ronald Knight was born on 20 January 1934 in

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was Historic counties of England, historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. Hoxton lies north-east of the City of London, is considered to be a part of London's East End ...

area of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, the son of James and Nellie. Knight was responsible for minor infractions of the law when he was young, whereas his brothers John and James were involved in more significant crimes. Along with brother John, Ronnie Knight was friendly with the Kray brothers, but, he says, was not connected with their illegal activities. Knight also had another brother, David and a sister, Patsy.

Clubs

The two clubs Knight ran, the Artistes and Repertoire Club (known as the A&R) on

Charing Cross Road Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street), which then merges into Tottenham Court Road. It leads from the north in the direc ...

and its neighbour

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, were drinking establishments favoured by the criminal underworld. Knight's clubs were profitable, and he had a sideline in pool tables. He also made a small fortune from his share in peep-show clubs.

Criminal history

Zomparelli killing

In 1970, Knight's brother, David, was stabbed to death in a pub in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

by Alfredo "Italian Tony" Zomparelli aka "Tony Z". Tony ran a travel agency in Soho and famously used to extort money from the owner of the A & M Casino, above the "White Elephant" Restaurant in Grosvenor Sq., Mayfair, by threatening the staff. Tony died from bullet wounds to his back in the Golden Goose Arcade, Soho, in September 1974 a few weeks after being released following a prison sentence for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

. Zomparelli had pleaded

self-defence Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in tim ...

. After

hitman Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

George Bradshaw confessed to his involvement, and alleged Knight had paid him £1,000 for the task, Knight was arrested for the murder of Zomparelli and tried at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in 1980; Knight was acquitted. In his 1998 book, ''Memoirs and Confessions'', Knight said he had hired a hitman, Nicky Gerard, to carry out the killing. Gerard, who himself was later murdered, was acquitted at the same trial as Knight. The killing was in revenge for the murder of Knight's brother. Under the

double jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare cases ...

rules in force at the time, it meant he could not be tried a second time. In 2002, Knight again denied responsibility.

Connection to 1983 Security Express robbery

Knight spent a decade on the run living in southern Spain's

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (; literally "Coast of the Sun") is a region in the south of Spain in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of ...

, after fleeing on the night his brother was arrested in 1984 for a robbery at a Security Express depot the previous year. John Knight was later imprisoned for 22 years in June 1985 for co-arranging the robbery. Their other surviving brother James was among the other gang members along with Freddie Foreman, John Mason, Ronnie Everett and Cliford Saxe and received eight years for handling stolen money. While evading

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

in Spain, Knight ran an

Indian restaurant Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

named Mumtaz and an eponymous nightclub, RKnights, the scene of violent crimes including a physical attack upon Knight, but by the mid-1990s, he was in financial difficulties. After returning to Britain in May 1994, Knight, aged 60, was jailed for seven years in January 1995 for handling £314,813 in stolen money from the £6 million armed robbery at a Security Express depot in

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

in 1983. Knight said he was not involved in the robbery, and the

prosecution A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

counsel Michael Worsley QC agreed the charge should remain on file, but Knight did plead guilty to handling the stolen bank notes. Judge Gerald Gordon said when sentencing Knight: "Clearly, I do not know what precise role you played, but professional robbers such as those involved are not going to hand over the sort of sums you got unless the person to whom they give it is very deeply involved himself". In November 1998, Knight was released on parole after serving three years.

Other crimes

In 1961, Knight was sentenced to 15 months in prison for dealing in stolen goods.

Television

In 2017, Knight was portrayed by Luke Allen-Gale in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

biopic documentary ''Babs''.

Personal life

Knight was married three times and had two children. # Elizabeth White (married in 1954, divorced before 1964) #

, actor (married 2 March 1964 in

, divorced January 1985) # Sue Haylock (married in 1987 in Fuengirola, separated in 1994) Knight had two children from his marriage to White, a daughter Lorraine (1956) and a son Garry (1959) Knight always denied he was a '

gangster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''Organized crime, mob'' and the suffix ''wikt:-ster, -st ...

', preferring instead the term 'loveable rascal'. In 1995, it was reported Knight was in a relationship with Diane Lumley. They split around 2002. Knight lived in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

during the later years of his life. He died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

on 12 June 2023, at the age of 89 after battling

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Selected publications

Knight has authored 6 books. # ''Black Knight: The Ronnie Knight Story'' (1990) # ''Signed Confessions'' (1996) # ''Rod of Justice'' (1997) # ''Memoirs and Confessions'' (1997) # ''Gotcha!: The Untold Story of Britain's Biggest Cash Robbery'' (2002) # ''Blood and Revenge'' (2004)

References

External links

Ronnie Knight interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Ronnie 1934 births 2023 deaths 20th-century English criminals Criminals from London Deaths from Parkinson's disease in England Deaths from pneumonia in England English gangsters Organised crime in London English autobiographers British people acquitted of murder People from Hoxton