Bobby Cummines, who was notorious as an armed robber and gang leader in the 1970s before turning his life around to become a prison reformer, has died at the age of 74
10:08, 06 Mar 2026Updated 10:35, 06 Mar 2026
Bobby Cummines has died(Image: Unlock)
A notorious gangster who served time alongside the Krays has passed away. Bobby Cummines, who gained infamy in the 1970s as an armed robber and gang boss before transforming his life, has died aged 74.
His family announced on his Instagram page: “It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden death of our beloved Bobby Cummines OBE who died on Thursday March 5.
“The family has asked for privacy at this difficult time. Details regarding the funeral will be shared in due course.”
A message from the family also stated: “Writing this seems very, very surreal. Our darling, dearest Bobby was cruelly taken from us this week. The family, his fiancé and myself are all slowly coming to terms with it.
He served time with the Krays(Image: Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
“We would love to see any memories you have of Bobby, let’s remember the good times because there were plenty of them!Uncle Bobby, you really were a very special man who did so much for the youth and anyone who needed help. You will be truly missed. Love you millions, rest easy Bobby xx”
Born in Islington, London, in 1951, Cummines was the youngest of eight children and despite being raised in a law-abiding household, he departed school at 16 without qualifications and embarked on his criminal career.
He went on to lead a firm of hitmen, blaggers and racketeers, dealing out extreme violence and brandishing a shotgun he called Kennedy. Cummines built a brutal reputation in 1970s north London and when, inevitably, he ended up in jail, he caused constant chaos, even holding the governor of a maximum security prison as a hostage.
But it was a conversation behind bars with one of Britain’s best-known criminals that put Bobby on the road to redemption. He got to know the late Charlie Richardson of the notorious south London “Torture Gang”, a deadly rival of the Kray Twins.
Bobby Cummines, who at 16 was Britain’s youngest armed robber(Image: Collect)
“He told me I had a good brain but if I carried on I would end up dead or on a life sentence. He told me to get into education – that it would earn me money without hurting anyone,” said Bobby. Incredibly, he did just that, and Bobby became a respected anti-crime campaigner whose charities have helped rehabilitate hundreds of ex-offenders.
In his autobiography he detailed his life of crime and how he went straight. Including the moment in 2011 when the man who kept a portrait of the late Queen in his cell met her in person to get an OBE.
“The Queen told me I had a really colourful background and she was pleased to award me the OBE. That’s the nicest way I can think of someone telling me I’ve got a lot of form,” said Bobby. “I’ve done some horrendous things – extreme violence – I never deny that. I deserved every day I got in prison because it was lunacy.
“I was dangerous and if I hadn’t been stopped there would have been shootings. There would have been dead bodies all over the place. But I got to the stage where I didn’t want to hurt people any more. When I got my OBE I was humbled. I never expected that. I was just trying to make up for all the bad things I’d done and make sure other kids didn’t do the same.”
