It was a £3 million bank robbery reportedly inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story – on the street where the fictional detective lived.
In the 1971 Baker Street robbery, a gang dug 40 feet into Lloyds Bank’s cellar vault before making off with up to £3 million – the equivalent of more than £35 million today – in cash and jewellery.
Now a new TV documentary tells how the robbery may have been a plot by the security services to confiscate photos of Princess Margaret in a clash with mobster and actor John Bindon.
The robbery became known as the “walkie-talkie bank job” because of a tip from a member of the public who overheard the robbers talking on a walkie-talkie.
A government ban known as a D-message was subsequently imposed to prevent further reporting and the National Archives on the raid remains sealed until 2071 – a highly unusual move for a crime with no apparent risk to national security.
Princess Margaret relaxes on the Caribbean island of Mustique with actor and mobster John Bindon
Princess Margaret is seen talking to a friend on the island of Mustique in 1976
Princess Margaret, centre, and her friends Lord Colin Tennant (left) and Lady Anne Tennant wait on the jetty at Mustique to greet Queen Elizabeth II on her Silver Jubilee tour of the West Indies. The royal yacht Britannia is in the background
Princess Margaret is seen waving from her carriage outside Buckingham Palace in 1960 as she departs for her honeymoon with husband Anthony Armstrong-Jones
A film based on the raid, 2008’s The Bank Job, starring Jason Statham, recounted the alleged connection to Princess Margaret.
It showed the compromising images of Margaret and Bindon being placed in Lloyds for safekeeping by Michael X, a known criminal originally from the Caribbean.
She was known to associate with Bindon and was pictured with him on the Caribbean island of Mustique in 1974.
Bindon, who had ties to the Kray twins and had co-starred as a crime boss with Michael Caine in the 1971 movie Get Carter, is said to be so well-endowed that he could hang five half-pint beer mugs from his manhood in one sitting.
Four men were jailed in 1973 for the raid and Michael X was hanged in Trinidad in 1975 for murder.
The new documentary Greatest Heists with Pierce Brosnan airs tonight on Sky History.
Former James Bond star Brosnan says in the documentary: ‘The safety deposit boxes at Baker Street Lloyds Bank are where London’s rich and powerful keep their wealth – and their secrets.
In the 1971 Baker Street robbery, a gang dug 40 feet into Lloyds Bank’s basement vault before making off with up to £3 million – the equivalent of more than £35 million today – in cash and jewels
Guy Dark, manager of Lloyds Bank in Baker Street, is seen outside the bank after the raid
‘It’s one of the most reputable banks in England and supposedly theft-proof.
It was also a tempting target for the right group of thieves – and in 1970s Britain the number of brazen thieves is growing.
“They look off the beaten track for inspiration and find it somehow surprising. A thief then tries something outrageous.’
The gang is said to have been inspired by the short story The Red Headed League by Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle, which told of digging a tunnel as part of a daring attempt to rob a bank in June 1890.
Prosecutor Robert Harman said at their trial, “In September 1971, this story was acted out for real…a tunnel was dug from a shop two doors down and the thieves came up through the vault floor. safe.
“They made off with money and valuables in excess of £1,500,000.”
Dr. Emmeline Thomas, a criminologist at City University in London, says on the show: ‘These documents are under embargo, we won’t see them until 2071. What is being covered up? Why is this a national secret?”
The alleged photos were said to be so harmful that the security services had to get their hands on them to ensure that no established figures could be blackmailed.
Margaret had a longtime love for Mustique, where she was given a piece of land as a wedding present by her former escort Colin Tennant, later Lord Glenconner.
By the time of the Baker Street raid, Margaret’s marriage to Lord Snowdon was in deep trouble. She retired to Mustique with her lover Roddy Llewellyn, a landscape gardener 17 years her junior.
Speaking of security at Lloyds, Brosnan adds: ‘The bombproof door weighs five tons, the reinforced concrete walls are three feet thick and the 1,000 lockers require two keys to open – and then there are the alarms.
“The masterminds behind every major heist see what most people don’t, risking everything to get the score of a lifetime.
A film based on the raid, 2008’s The Bank Job, starring Jason Statham, recounted the alleged connection to Princess Margaret
Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan narrates Sky History’s Greatest Heists documentary series
“It takes a bold plan, the right team and the skill to stay one step ahead of the law.
But Gavin’s Holmes-inspired plan isn’t easy. He must map out a tunnel path to stop right under the vault.
“He needs experts with the right knowledge to dig the tunnel, he needs someone smart enough to disable the advanced alarms. What he needs is a team.’
Leader Anthony Gavin, along with Benjamin Wolfe, Reg Tucker and Thomas Stephens were all jailed for their part in the raid.
They rented a vacant store, leather goods store Le Sac, two doors down from the bank.
After digging the tunnel, the gang used explosives to force their way into the vault, which contained 268 lockers.
However, the tunnel was in danger of collapsing and chicken shop staff called the police to report strange noises.
After overhearing the gang, radio aficionado Robert Rowlands told police, who searched 700 banks within an eight-mile radius, but were unable to reach the gang in time.
When the police showed up on the Monday after the raid, they found a message scribbled on the wall. It said, “Let’s see how Sherlock Holmes solves this one.”
Greatest Heists With Pierce Brosnan: The Baker Street Bank Burglary, airs tonight at 10pm on Sky History.
The Daily Mail’s coverage of the Baker Street raid on Lloyds Bank was about police blunders