A new documentary, Hatton Garden: The Great Diamond Heist, revisits what is described as 'the largest burglary in English legal history', centring on the charismatic surviving mastermind John 'Kenny' Collins. The film recounts the 2013 raid on a safe deposit facility in London's jewellery district, which resulted in an estimated haul of millions of pounds worth of gems, cash and valuables.
Collins, the de facto narrator, provides a brazen and often humorous account of the crime, from breaching the lift shaft to drilling through concrete and ransacking boxes with a hydraulic ram. He reserves particular scorn for accomplices who abandoned the job early, stating: 'He fucked off! He didn't fancy it! He just went! … Anyone with half a brain would go back.' His own capture he dismisses as a consequence of not wanting to leave his dog behind.
The heist was notable for the advanced ages of its perpetrators – ringleader Brian Reader was 76, while the youngest, Michael Seed, was 54. Seed, who disabled the alarm system, was eventually identified by his distinctive gait on CCTV, a quirk Collins says he never noticed. The police investigation relied heavily on surveillance and luck, with Collins grudgingly crediting officers for their persistence.
Only a fraction of the stolen goods has been recovered, though Collins insists this is 'all bollocks' and that police retrieved everything. The documentary briefly touches on victims like Jigar Choksi, who lost his life savings and was ruined despite being insured, but the focus remains squarely on Collins's unrepentant perspective. 'I don't regret doing anything I done,' he declares.
