The man who helped stop the attempted kidnapping of Princess Anne has expressed his fury after learning that the attacker has been released from custody, saying: “I should have hit him harder.”
Ronnie “The Geezer” Russell, now 77, spoke out after discovering that Ian Ball, the man who tried to abduct the Princess Royal, had been freed from Broadmoor Hospital, despite being described as “very dangerous.”
Ball, also 77, was quietly released even though he had never shown remorse for his violent actions in March 1974, when he opened fire on four men on The Mall near Buckingham Palace.
He had expressed hope to kidnap the then 23-year-old Princess Anne and demand a £3million ransom from Queen Elizabeth II, but hadn’t counted on Russell driving past.
'I should’ve hit him harder' says man who stopped Princess Anne kidnap
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Despite being threatened with a gun, Russell, who is 6ft 2in and weighed 17 stone at the time, confronted Ball and landed three punches during the tense standoff, before police were able to overpower the would-be kidnapper.
Since his release, Ball has launched an odd and escalating campaign to overturn his conviction, including publishing a book and using saved benefits money to travel to Barbados and Japan.
He is now living in a hostel in west London and maintains the kidnap attempt was a “hoax,” despite having admitted his crimes, including the attempted murder of two police officers, at the Old Bailey in 1974.
Speaking to the Mail, Russell said: “I can’t believe Ball’s been released, it’s ridiculous. I should have hit him a bit harder. Am I worried he might come and find me? Let’s go further – give him my address, and I’ll go one better this time.
Ronnie 'The Geezer' Russell posing with his medal from the late Queen Elizabeth II
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“He’s saying now, ‘None of it ever happened, there was supposed to be no gunpowder in the bullets.’ It’s absolutely impossible, because it did happen.
“He didn’t come out with all that when he was sentenced at the Old Bailey – I was there, watching him plead guilty. He should be recalled to Broadmoor.”
Russell was 28 years old at the time and working for a cleaning firm when he drove down The Mall and came across the chaotic scene outside Princess Anne’s car, with shattered glass all around. Ball was holding a gun in each hand and firing.
Recalling his thought process at the time, Russell later said: “That’s a liberty – he needs sorting.” He ran toward Ball and landed a punch to the head, although the blow only grazed the gunman as he turned to shoot, with the bullet smashing into a nearby taxi’s windscreen.
Ronnie 'The Geezer' Russell (right) in Buckingham Palace in 1974, where the Queen thanked the seven heroes involved in preventing the attempted kidnapping
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Russell then ran around to the other side of the car. He said: “I was lifting Princess Anne out of the car by her forearms, saying ‘Now we’re going to walk away, and he’s going to have to go through me to get to you’. I was a big lad. But Ball came round the car, and her husband, Captain Mark Phillips, pulled her back in. When I turned, he was stood there with his gun pointed at me (he’d broken a car window with the other one, and it was on the floor), shouting, ‘Come on, Anne, you’ve got to come.’
“That’s when I decided it was going to be me, or him. I had to hit him first, and harder. I was quite prepared to sacrifice myself for a member of the Royal Family.”
It was Russell’s final two punches that floored Ball. “I think I would have knocked a tree down,” he said. Ball went on to spend 45 years in high-security psychiatric care, first at Rampton, then Broadmoor.
Ball spent thousands to publish his book To Kill a Princess through the self-publishing firm Publish Nation Limited, run by David and Gwendolyn Morrison.
Ian Ball pictured in handcuffs in March 1974
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“When Ball was put away ‘at Her Majesty’s pleasure’ we were all sure he’d never be out,” Russell said. “I can’t see any reason why he’s been released, why a publishing company agreed to print his autobiography, or how come he’s had benefits to save the money to go to Barbados. I’m going to Barbados later this year, but that’s because I worked for it. I had to sell my medal. He’s been mollycoddled, and it’s been too easy for him.”
Russell, originally from London and now retired to the West Country, was later invited to Buckingham Palace for his bravery.
At the time, royal bodyguard James Beaton, who was shot three times, received the George Cross. Journalist Brian McConnell and Princess Anne’s chauffeur, Alex Callender, were awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal, having both been shot in the chest. PC Michael Hills, who was shot in the stomach, and Russell were both awarded the George Medal.
Recalling the event, Russell remembered: “The Queen went, ‘This medal thanks you as the Queen of England – I want to thank you as Anne’s mother.’ That was a touching moment.”