Kray twins

Ronald "Ronnie" Kray (24 October 1933 – 17 March 1995) and Reginald "Reggie" Kray (24 October 1933 – 1 October 2000), were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals from Haggerston. They led organised crime from Bethnal Green in the East End of London, from the late 1950s to 1967.

Ronnie and Reggie Kray
Reggie Kray, second left
Born	(1933-10-24)24 October 1933 Haggerston, London, England
Died	Ronnie: 17 March 1995(1995-03-17) (aged 61) Wexham Park Hospital, Slough, England Reggie: 1 October 2000(2000-10-01) (aged 66) Norwich, Norfolk, England
Occupation(s)	Gangsters, nightclub owners
Organization	The Firm
Spouses	Reggie: Frances Shea ​ ​ (m. 1965; died 1967)​ Roberta Jones ​ (m. 1997)​ [1][2] Ronnie: Elaine Mildener ​ ​ (m. 1985; div. 1989)​ [3] Kate Howard ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 1994)​ [3]
Relatives	Charlie Kray (brother)

Their gang, "the Firm", committed murder, armed robbery, arson, protection rackets and assaults.

The Krays, who were homosexual, were protected by two leading homosexuals in Parliament: Robert Boothby (later Lord Boothby), a leading Conservative member, and Tom Driberg, a leading Labour Party member.^[4] This was at a time when sex between men was still a criminal offence in the UK. The facts were printed in the Sunday Mirror.^[5]

Although no names were printed, the twins threatened investigating journalists. Boothby threatened to sue the newspaper with the help of Labour Party leader Harold Wilson's solicitor, Arnold Goodman. In the face of this, the Sunday Mirror backed down, sacking its editor, printing an apology and paying Boothby £40,000 in an out-of-court settlement.^[6]

Because of this, other newspapers were unwilling to expose the Krays' connections and criminal activities. Decades later, Channel 4 established the truth of the allegations and released a documentary on the subject called The Gangster and the Pervert Peer (2009).^[7]

Eventually, Scotland Yard decided to arrest the Krays, hoping other witnesses would speak once the Krays were in custody. On 8 May 1968, the Krays and 15 other members of the Firm were arrested.^[8]

It was the longest murder hearing in the history of British criminal justice. Justice Melford Stevenson said of the sentences "I recommend [they] should not be less than thirty years".^[9][10] In March 1969, both were sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 30 years for the murders. There right hand man was rayn Linley well known has the big 1