The Enforcer : Secrets of My Life with the Krays

When Reggie Kray walked into a public bar and shot Albert Donoghue from behind, Albert learned that the Twins meant business.

The hit was intended to avenge a loose remark, and also to test Albert's loyalty to the underworld code of silence.

It was a test that Albert passed admirably. And so he became Reggie's right-hand man, his minder and chief executive.

He was deeply implicated in their criminal rackets, collecting protection money, and acting as paymaster to the other members of the firm.

But then the Krays made what was to be one of their most dangerous mistakes.

They tried to get Donoghue to admit to the killing of Frank Mitchell.

Albert, who had become increasingly appalled by the violent turn the Twins' business affairs had been taking, testified against them.

His evidence landed the Krays 30 years. Albert and his family were sentenced to a lifetime of watching their backs.

In this book, Albert Donoghue reveals the shocking events he witnessed - it is the inside story of the Krays from a radically different standpoint, sensationally charting the rise of the country's most notorious criminals, and their final descent into self-destruction.