Frederick Gerald Foreman, a notorious figure in London’s criminal underworld known for his association with the infamous Kray twins, died on October 10, 2026, at the age of 94.

Born in 1932 in Battersea, south London, Foreman rose through the ranks of East End gangland during the post-war period. He became a prominent enforcer within the Krays’ organization, known as "The Firm," and earned the nickname "Brown Bread Fred" — Cockney rhyming slang indicating his involvement in violent crime.

Foreman’s criminal career was marked by a series of high-profile incidents. In 1968, he was acquitted of the murder of Frank "Mad Axeman" Mitchell, a dangerous gangster released from prison through the Krays’ intervention but later deemed a threat. Decades later, Foreman confessed in his 1996 autobiography that he and an accomplice had killed Mitchell on Christmas Eve 1966, disposing of the body in the English Channel, where it was never recovered.

He was also tried and acquitted in 1975 for the murder of Tommy "Ginger" Marks, another East End gangster. Despite never being convicted, Foreman later admitted involvement in the killing. At the time of his acquittal, Foreman was already serving a ten-year sentence for his role as an accessory to the 1967 murder of Jack "the Hat" McVitie, a crime for which the Krays themselves received life imprisonment.

Following McVitie’s stabbing, Foreman was tasked with disposing of the body after gang members had abandoned it in a stolen car in Rotherhithe. He transported the corpse to Newhaven and disposed of it at sea. Foreman served six years before his release and spent two years living in the United States running a slot machine business under a false identity.

In 1983, Foreman was involved in a major armed robbery when he and five others stole an estimated £7 million from the Security Express headquarters in Shoreditch. Despite the violent nature of the raid, no one was seriously injured. Following the heist, Foreman fled to Spain, living near Marbella until his capture in 1989. He was extradited to Britain and sentenced to nine years in prison for handling stolen goods but was not convicted of direct involvement in the robbery itself.

After his release in 1995, Foreman became a public figure, appearing on television and authoring several autobiographies where he both condemned and, at times, embraced the gangster lifestyle of the 1960s. His confession to the murder of Mitchell in a 2000 documentary prompted the police to reopen investigations, but legal barriers and prosecutorial decisions prevented further trials.

Foreman’s life reflected a blend of criminal ruthlessness and complex personal loyalties. He maintained ties with the Krays throughout their imprisonment, acting as a pallbearer at Ronnie Kray’s funeral in 1995 and visiting Reggie Kray after his release. He was married to Maureen Puttnam from 1951 until their separation; she died in 2015. Foreman is survived by three children, including the actor Jamie Foreman.

His criminal enterprise extended into legitimate businesses, such as betting shops, a boxing gym, and the Prince of Wales pub in Southwark, which he operated as landlord. His later years were reportedly spent in a London nursing home, where he kept a photograph of the Kray twins.

Foreman was among the last surviving members of a generation of notorious East End gangsters whose violent exploits and associations with celebrity culture have been both condemned and mythologized. His death marks the end of an era in British organized crime history.