Slip-Up
Synopsis
This is the story behind the sensational triumph of the Daily Express finding the Great Train Robbery fugitive Ronnnie Biggs in Rio de Janeiro and refusing to hand him over to Scotland Yard until it ran the story. It was first published by the book division of the New York Times, then by Andre Deutsch in London. The BBC bought television rights and made an elaborate 90-minute television drama. Legal threats from Jack Slipper, the leading copper in the fiasco that ensued, led to cuts and a change of title. It was broadcast as The Great Paper Chase. Slipper sued anyway and the BBC caved in. The show that had cost £1 million to make was never aired again. The book, however, escaped unscathed.