Cornell had nothing but contempt for the Krays. In one notorious incident he had called Ronnie a 'poof when they crossed swords at a famous West End gangster hang-out, the Astor Club.

Ronnie was struggling to come to terms with the fact that he was homosexual. He had seethed about the remark for two years. In his circle, even to mention the incident was to provoke him into a wild rage in which he was capable of anything. He let it be known that if Cornell ever set foot in the East End, Ronnie would even the score.

The Blind Beggar On the evening of 9 March 1966, the twins were drinking in a back-street pub with a bunch of friends when word came in that Cornell had brazenly walked on to their territory. He was coolly sitting at the bar of the Blind Beggar, a large Victorian pub in Mile End Road, almost opposite the London Hospital.

Ronnie ordered two of his 'minders', John Dickson and lan Barrie, to take him to the pub immediately. It was 8.30 p.m. and several dozen people were in the bar when Ronnie strode in. Cornell was sitting on a bar stool drinking Scotch. "Well, look who's here," he said mockingly. Shot through the head They were the last words he ever spoke.

From under his coat Ronnie drew a black Luger pistol, and in one motion pressed it to the side of Cornell's head and shot him. Kray turned smartly on his heel and strode out as Cornell slumped to the floor, dying. The juke box was playing the Walker Brothers' hit 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore' as Cornell gasped his last.

Detectives were on the scene within 10 minutes. But, as usual with any incident involving the Krays, no-one had seen anything. No witnesses One detective said: "We knew that 30 or so people had seen what happened, yet there was no-one prepared to talk.

The bar staff's version was that Cornell had been the only customer. The staff themselves had all been 'out the back' when the shooting happened and hadn't seen a thing."