A MAN telling his son how escaped prisoners were not long ago regarded as folk heroes is realising how deeply strange that was.
Joe Turner was telling son Bradley how in the 1970s the whole country would have been cheering for this Khalife lad before registering what he was saying and stopping mid-sentence.
He said: “Wait, why did we spend four decades treating Ronnie Biggs like he was Robin f**king Hood? Even now I’m chuckling at his loveable country-hopping antics.
“I guess the Great Train Robbers were different, but we also cheered on George Blake and he was a KGB agent and traitor. Still, what a lad, eh? Rope ladder over the wall of Wormwood Scrubs and he made it all the way through the Iron Curtain!
“Back then every schoolboy could recount their favourite escapes. Ropes made of bedsheets, guns made of soap, tunnels, guard uniforms and a light tap on the head with a cosh for the screws, who wouldn’t hold a grudge.
“Then the whole nation would be following the manhunt agog, hoping they’d outwit the police and pop up six years later on the Côte d’Azur hoisting a pint of wine and giving two fingers to the camera for The Sun.
“F**k it, let’s bring those days back. We’re all behind you Danny Khalife, my son! Give those coppers the slip! Next stop Istanbul!”
