Charles Bronson's reaction to being denied release from prison emerges in bizarre footage

Charles Bronson made a bizarre phone call after his request for parole was denied yesterday.

The infamous prisoner has spent almost 50 years behind bars, and launched a bid for freedom earlier this year with a public parole hearing. You can see his reaction to discovering he won’t be released here:

Yesterday, Bronson - who has legally changed his name to Charles Salvador - was told his application had not been successful.

The board released its ruling following the two-day hearing, writing that Bronson lacks the 'skills to manage his risk of future violence'.

The parole board also decided that Bronson would not be moved to an open prison.

In a document detailing the decision published on Thursday (30 March), the Parole Board said: “After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress that Mr Salvador has made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearings, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Salvador was suitable for release.

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“Nor did the panel recommend to the Secretary of State that he should be transferred to an open prison.”

It went on: "The panel noted that he is presently in a highly restricted environment and his general attitude towards compliance is yet to be tested in conditions of less security.

"Consequently, the panel did not consider the release plan to be sufficient at this stage in managing Mr Salvador safely in the community."

In footage shared on Facebook, author Dave Courtney can be seen holding up his phone, with Bronson on the other end.

The 70-year-old prisoner begins to belt out the 1967 Engelbert Humperdinck classic 'Please Release Me'. He briefly breaks off to chat to someone in the background then goes back to crooning the appropriately titled song.

PA

After learning he wouldn’t be a free man anytime soon, Bronson called his mum Eira and his ex-wife Irene Dunroe.

Speaking to the Mirror, Dunroe said: "He was disappointed. He said he had to make the hardest phone call he has ever had to make to his mum saying: 'I'm not coming out mum.'

"He's so disappointed. He thought he was the nearest he's ever been to freedom.

“He kept saying, 'It's only two or three years, I can do that, I've already done nearly 50, so I can do another two and a half'.

“He was telling me: 'You don't need to cry about it. Don't cry. Don't get upset. It is what it is. It just has to happen'.

"He was courageous. He told me, 'Please don't get upset. Please don't cry'."