Hatton Garden jewellery heist ‘guv’nor’ Brian Reader, 79, is released from prison after serving just half of his seven-year sentence – despite stolen gems worth millions still being missing
- Brian Reader is the oldest member of the gang dubbed the Diamond Wheezers
- Mastermind walked free from Belmarsh prison in south-east London last week
- Decision to release him has sparked anger as the pensioner has still not paid back the full cost of the stolen gems, bullion and cash.
Brian Reader (pictured) has been released from Belmarsh prison in London after serving just three years
The mastermind behind the Hatton Garden heist has been released from prison after serving just three years – despite the fact millions of pounds worth of gems and bullions remain missing.
Brian Reader, the oldest member of the gang dubbed the Diamond Wheezers, walked free from Belmarsh prison in south-east London last week.
He was one of a team which bored into the vault with a drill and stole from more than 70 safety deposit boxes over Easter 2015.
Known as ‘The Guv’nor’, the career criminal and his associates meticulously planned and executed the daring £14million heist – thought to be the biggest in UK history.
Reader, who has suffered prostate cancer and a series of strokes, was released with remission after serving half of a six-year and three-month sentence, reports The Sun.
He has reportedly been celebrating his freedom from the garden of his home in Dartford, Kentm with his son Paul taking him out for rides in his red Porsche sports car.
Brian Reader was the oldest member of the gang which bored into the vault with a drill (pictured) and stole from more than 70 safety deposit boxes over Easter 2015
The decision to release him sparked anger as the pensioner has still not paid back the full cost of the stolen gems, bullion and cash.
Reader previously faced another seven years in prison if he was unable to repay the £6.5million confiscation order imposed on him and his accomplices.
He was initially ordered to return to prison at the end of the month when the pay back time expires. However, he has since been given leave by the Court of Appeal to challenge the order and Reader will remain free until that court appearance.
No date has yet been set for his appeal.
John Collins, Terry Perkins and Brian Reader in the Castle Public House, where they were caught bragging about the raid
The Hatton Garden heist has been described as ‘the largest burglary in English legal history’.
David Cameron took a personal interest in the investigation and, thanks in part to political pressure, the police resorted to state-of-the-art surveillance equipment normally preserved for terrorist investigations.
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