Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs has been granted release from his prison sentence on compassionate grounds, Justice Secretary Jack Straw has said.
He explained that the decision was based on medical evidence that Biggs's condition had deteriorated and he was not expected to recover.
Biggs is severely ill in hospital with pneumonia and doctors have said there is "not much hope" for him.
Biggs, 79, was refused parole by Mr Straw last month.
He rejected a recommendation by the Parole Board which said the risk Biggs posed was "manageable".
The inmate of Norwich Prison, who turns 80 this weekend, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in June suffering from a chest infection.
