More medical tests for Biggs

Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs was today undergoing further medical tests after spending a night in hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said today.

Biggs, who was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south-east London, on Saturday, was said to have remained in a "stable condition" overnight.

A spokeswoman said: "His condition continues to be stable but he will be staying in hospital today for further routine tests.

"He will be transferred back to the prison hospital facility when the doctors feel that his condition warrants it."

The 71-year-old was being treated as an NHS patient and had been given a single bay at the hospital, she added.

Biggs had been held in custody at Belmarsh Prison, south east London, after ending his self-imposed exile in Brazil.

A statement from a family spokeswoman yesterday said Biggs was taken to hospital "following a change in his condition".

It went on: "His son Michael spent the evening by his bedside. He continues to be deeply concerned about his father’s health".

Biggs flew back to Britain last month after 35 years on the run and was immediately arrested.

He made a brief appearance at West London Magistrates Court before being taken to prison to continue the 30-year sentence he was given for his part in the 1963 robbery of a Glasgow to London mail train.

Driver Jack Mills died a few years after being beaten by a cosh during the robbery.

Biggs had served only 15 months of his sentence when he broke out of Wandsworth prison in 1965.

Before his return, Biggs contacted Scotland Yard detectives by e-mail from Rio de Janeiro to say he wanted a passport and offering to give himself up.