Hatton Garden thief ’s dementia may spare him prison

THE leader of the Hatton Garden gang could avoid being sent back to prison after being diagnosed with dementia, a court has heard.

Brian Reader was convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary in 2015 for his role as “The Guv’nor” in the £13.7million robbery in London’s diamond district. The 80-year-old, from Dartford, Kent, was released from jail last year after serving half his sentence but faces another seven years behind bars if he does not pay back the stolen money. But his return to prison could be stopped by a dementia diagnosis, lawyers said yesterday.

Philip Stott, prosecuting, said Reader’s lawyers had served medical evidence suggesting he “was incapable of participating in these proceedings”. He said prosecutors will instruct their own medical experts and District Judge Richard Blake adjourned the confiscation hearing to Oct 3.

Reader and his co-conspirators in the robbery owe a collective £5.75million, which prosecutors say is available in hidden assets from unrecovered jewellery, gold, gems and cash, as well as properties in the UK and abroad. John “Kenny” Collins, 78, Daniel Jones, 64, and Terry Perkins, who died in prison last year aged 69, joined Reader in being subject to one of the biggest confiscation orders in police history.

Collins, who has a property in Spain, has been ordered to pay back millions or he too will return to jail for seven years. He appeared at Hendon magistrates’ court yesterday to fight the order. His lawyer, David Wood, said Collins has recently received an offer of £742,500 for his north London home.

He was released on bail until Aug 1. Jones of Enfield, north London has already been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment after failing to pay back his share of the cash.