Biggs stable after feeding tube op

Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs was in a stable condition today after having an operation to insert a feeding tube into his stomach.

The ailing 71-year-old is now being fed through a tube at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south east London, his spokeswoman confirmed.

Last night, he spent his second night free from handcuffs that had secured him to his bed at the hospital, after a plea from his son Michael, who had called the measure ‘‘inhumane’’.

Biggs’ spokeswoman said Michael went to see his father yesterday and was still very distressed about his condition.

The robber, who returned to Britain from self-imposed exile in Brazil last month, had tried to communicate with Michael and indicated he was ‘‘terribly worried’’ about his own health.

Biggs, who has previously suffered two strokes and a minor heart attack, is unable to speak and can only communicate by writing or moving his hand.

He was taken ill while at Belmarsh Prison, south east London, and admitted to hospital on Saturday.

Last month Biggs contacted Scotland Yard detectives by e-mail from Rio de Janeiro asking for a passport and offering to give himself up after 30 years on the run.

He was immediately arrested on his return to Britain and after a brief appearance in court was ordered to continue the 30-year sentence he was given for his part in the 1963 robbery of a Glasgow-to-London mail train.