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Supporters of this theory believe that the MI5 helped set up the robbery in hopes to obtain those pictures. Obviously they’ve never admitted to this, but if you’re trying to cover something up you wouldn’t announce it.

Whether or not Michael X really had the infamous pictures in the bank also remains a mystery. He was hanged in 1975 for murder so obviously he can’t confirm or deny. Furthermore, a British government file on Michael X will remain closed until 2054. This is claimed by George McIndoe who served as a producer to the film and is familiar with the case but is disputed by others.

The movie doesn’t really touch on it, but another interesting aspect of this mystery is the fact that four days after the robbery, British authorities banned news outlets from reporting on it by releasing a D-Notice. The story disappeared from newspapers for “national security” reasons. Rowlands, the aforementioned ham radio operator, claimed that the police attempted to prevent him from talking to the press. He also claimed that police threatened to prosecute him for listening to an unlicensed radio station.

The Mirror actually did confirm that Fleet Street editors of the day were approached directly by senior government officials and told to drop the story. But, like other aspects of this story, the D-Notice theory is also disputed. An investigation some years later showed that no D-Notice was ever issued at the time. Furthermore, a D-Notice has no legal status; it is just a request and not a legally enforceable order. The Times newspaper was still reporting about the case over two months later.

One last mystery of the Baker Street robbery is the fate of the criminals. As I’ve stated before, four men were arrested, but their names or sentences were never released to the media. Unfortunately, this may not actually be true either.

Other reports suggest that the identity of the criminals and their sentences have been revealed. The Times (amongst other newspapers) reported in January 1973 that four men had been convicted of the robbery. Three of these men were Anthony Gavin, 38, a photographer from Dalston; Thomas Stephens, 35, a car dealer from Islington; and Reginald Tucker, 37, a company director from Hackney. They all pleaded guilty and received 12 years imprisonment. The fourth man, Benjamin Wolfe, 66, a fancy goods dealer from East Dulwich, pleaded not guilty but was eventually convicted and received eight years. Wolfe had signed the lease on the shop used by the robbers. Two other men accused of handling banknotes from the robbery were acquitted. According to one press report, it was believed that the mastermind of the crime was another London car dealer who was never caught.

Verdict:

Because of the mystery surrounding the case it is impossible for any movie to portray the events 100% accurately. For all we know, this could have actually been the way it happened but there is no way to prove it. It is best to think of this movie as depicting one of the many different ways the events could have gone down.

While it does have some verifiable fabrications it is still close enough to reality. The movie’s biggest success is that it shines a light on a very bizarre and strange bank heist that seems to have been largely forgotten (I didn’t know about it). It not only depicts one of the many theories surrounding the event but it sparks an interest in finding out more about it. Once you’ve seen the movie, you can’t help but feel the urge to go out and learn more about the events that inspired it because sometimes fact really is stranger than fiction.

Next Time: United 93

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