A member of the Securitas heist gang that stole £53m in Britain’s biggest-ever cash robbery should be released from prison, the Parole Board says.

Lea Rusha – disguised with prosthetics and a fake ginger beard – was one of two men who posed as police officers to kidnap Colin Dixon, the manager of the depot in Tonbridge, Kent, and his family.

A masked gang tied up staff at gunpoint before loading £53m in cash into a 7.5-tonne lorry in February 2006.

Last month, on the 20th anniversary of the raid, Kent police said the robbery remains a live investigation, with more than £30m still unaccounted for.

Rusha, now 53, was found guilty of conspiracy to robbery, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and conspiracy to possess a firearm along with four other men at the Old Bailey in 2008.

Mastermind Lee Murray, a former cage fighter, was jailed in Morrocco, while Paul Allen was jailed after being extradited back to the UK from the country.

Rusha was handed an indefinite sentence with a minimum term of 15 years and was first released released in June 2024 but recalled in December that year after breaching his licence conditions.

After a private hearing last month the Parole Board said he should be released from prison under stringent licence conditions.

Read more from Sky News:
Exclusive poll reveals what people think of UK police
‘Incredibly brave’ man traps robber in shop

“After considering the circumstances of his offending and time on licence, the progress made while in custody and the evidence presented at the hearing, the panel was satisfied that imprisonment was no longer necessary for the protection of the public,” a summary of the decision said.

“The panel considered that Mr Rusha had made substantial progress during his sentence. It did not find all his evidence to be convincing, but it determined that he met the test for release as set out under the law.”

Last year, three men were found guilty of plotting to murder Allen after he was released from his 18-year prison sentence.

Allen was left paralysed from the chest down after he was shot twice as he stood in the kitchen of his home in Woodford, east London, on 11 July 2019.

Bob Barker, longtime host of “The Price Is Right,” allegedly went through some major personality changes after the death of his wife, Dorothy Jo Gideon, in 1982. 

In E!’s documentary series “Dirty Rotten Scandals,” those closest to Barker at the time opened up about the sudden shift in attitude and the mental health challenges the TV personality experienced amid his grief. 

“{Bob and Dorothy Jo] went to Hawaii in August and she was diagnosed with lung cancer and died two months later,” Barbara Hunter, a former producer on the game show, said in the episode. “Bob really went into a funk after that. He was ready to take his own life. That’s what he shared with me.”

FORMER ‘PRICE IS RIGHT’ MODEL EXPOSES DARK TRUTH ABOUT BOB BARKER ERA

Bob Barker allegedly had suicidal thoughts after the death of his wife Dorothy Jo in 1982.  (Getty Images)

“He went through a lot of changes,” Holly Hallstrom — a former model who showcased prizes as one of “Barker’s Beauties” — told Fox News Digital ahead of the premiere. “At first, he was grieving, so that was a big change. It was very somber on the set, much more somber. But then, after that, it just became like you were living in Barkerland, where he was the supreme ruler of the universe and not in a good way.”

The pair were married for 36 years until Gideon’s death from lung cancer in 1982 at the age of 56. Two years later, Barker began dating Nancy Burnet, whom he remained with until his death in 2023.

Elsewhere in the documentary, Hallstrom detailed the hostile work environment, sexual harassment and discrimination she witnessed during her time on the show. 

Hallstrom appeared on the show from 1977 until she was fired in 1995, a decision she has said was blamed on weight gain caused by medication. However, Hallstrom alleges she was actually dismissed after declining to publicly support Barker when fellow model Dian Parkinson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him in 1994.

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Holly Hallstrom, Bob Barker and Janice Pennington attend the party to celebrate Pennington’s book, “Husband, Lover, Spy,” on Jan. 13, 1994, at Spago in West Hollywood. Hallstrom was fired in 1995. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Barker consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that any relationships were consensual.

“I want people to know the whole story, not just Barker’s side of it,” Hallstrom told Fox News Digital. “After all these years, people who have only heard one side are going to hear the other side, and our side is court-documented testimony. You can’t argue against that.”

Hallstrom said that was the moment when “everything got really bad.”

“I thought the whole situation, all the publicity, all the media attention, I thought it was horrible. I thought it was tacky. I was glad [co-creator] Mark Goodson had died [in 1992]. He would’ve been mortified to see that kind of tacky scandal on what was a family show,” said Hallstrom. 

Bob Barker hosted “The Price Is Right” for 35 years.  (Getty Images)

“I didn’t want to be involved in it at all,” said Hallstrom. “Barker wanted us to go on all these talk shows and say he was the victim and that Dian was lying. I didn’t participate because I didn’t want to, and I thought it was tacky. And also because I could not honestly say, ‘Oh yes, Dian is lying,’ or ‘Oh no, Dian is not lying.’ I was not present for those conversations.”

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Parkinson dropped her lawsuit in 1995. At the time, her attorney said the legal battle had become too emotionally and financially draining, while impacting her physical health. Barker maintained that their relationship was consensual.

Today, Hallstrom doesn’t watch old clips of herself, a reminder of a chapter she now views very differently. Even so, she says she has no regrets about taking the chance and auditioning for the show.

Barker earned 19 Emmys during his time with “The Price is Right.” (Jesse Grant)

“I see myself, and I see someone who is trying so hard to appear graceful and poised like a professional model,” she said. “But I also see a young woman who was having a wonderful time entertaining people. And those were the happiest parts of my work, those hours when we were shooting in front of the audience.”

“No matter what was happening backstage, I still felt the happiness of the audience,” she said. “And to be in that position, to bring people happiness, is a gift. It was worth everything that was happening backstage.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Barker hosted the iconic game show for 35 years and became executive producer of the series in 1988. He won 19 Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding game show host, more than any other emcee. Barker also won four Emmys as the executive producer of the series, which is still the longest-running game show in history. 

After a 50-year career in television, Barker retired from hosting “The Price is Right” in 2007. He returned to the show three times after his retirement, including a 2013 appearance when he celebrated his 90th birthday. 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said the U.S. military is striking “Iranian-aligned militia groups” in Iraq as Secretary of War Pete Hegseth vowed Thursday to “honor” the sacrifice of six U.S. service members killed in a plane crash there last week. 

President Donald Trump, Hegseth and Caine on Wednesday attended the dignified transfer of the six fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The Pentagon said last week that the U.S. forces were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during a combat mission in support of Operation Epic Fury. 

Caine said Thursday that in Iraq, AH-64 helicopters “have been striking against Iranian-aligned militia groups to make sure that we suppress any threat in Iraq against U.S. forces or U.S. interests.” 

“And we remain focused on pursuit of any platform that Iran could field to harm Americans or our partners,” he added.

TRUMP THREATENS KEY IRANIAN GAS FIELD AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speak during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 19, 2026.  (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Reflecting on the fallen U.S. service members, Hegseth said, “Yesterday at Dover Air Force Base, President Trump, the chairman, and I stood in solemn silence as heroes came home.” 

“Flag-draped caskets. We honored them. We grieved with their families, and we listened. What I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve was the same from family after family. They said, ‘finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done.’ My response, along with that of the president, was simple — of course, we will finish this. We will honor their sacrifice,” Hegseth said. 

“Yesterday’s ceremony reminded us why we fight. Not for nation building or democracy promotion, but to crush direct threats to America, Americans, and our interests. We fight to win, and we are winning, on our terms, following our objectives,” he continued.

12 ARAB AND ISLAMIC COUNTRIES UNITE TO CONDEMN ‘HEINOUS’ IRANIAN ATTACKS

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth salutes, as he and President Donald Trump arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.  (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)

“My 13-year-old son popped into my office last night while I was editing these remarks. He asked about the war and the families I met at Dover, and I looked at him and I said, ‘They died for you, son, so that your generation doesn’t have to deal with a nuclear Iran’,” Hegseth also said. “It’s the truth. And they did. So to the families who said, ‘finish this,’ we will. And I say the same to every American who wants peace through strength. May Almighty God continue to bless our troops in this fight. And again to the American people, please pray for them, every day, on bended knee, with your family, in your schools, in your churches, in the name of Jesus Christ. To the troops, keep going and Godspeed.” 

Those killed were Maj. John “Alex” Klinner, 33; Maj. Ariana Savino, 31; Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34; Capt. Seth Koval, 38; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30; and Master. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28.

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling tanker aircraft takes off from the Kadena Air Base, west of Okinawa, southern Japan, in August 2023. (Hiro Komae/AP)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Caine said at the Pentagon Thursday that, “Our nation will never forget their sacrifice, and we will never forget their names,” and, “Our entire joint force mourns with you today.” 

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report. 

A teenage boy has died after a flat fire in south London, that broke out next to a fire station.

Four fire engines and around 25 personnel tackled the blaze on the first floor of a six-storey building in Cooper’s Road, Southwark, on Wednesday.

One teenage boy made it out of the property before firefighters arrived and was taken to hospital, while another died at the scene, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.

The fire broke out next to Old Kent Road Fire Station, with the first call received just before 3pm.

Crews from Dockhead, Dowgate, Shadwell and Whitechapel fire stations went to the scene and the blaze was under control just after 4.30pm.

A 64-metre turntable ladder appliance from Old Kent Road Fire Station was on the scene within six minutes of the call, an LFB spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: “Another appliance from Old Kent Road was out at a different incident but did return to the scene of the incident later.”

The cause Is being investigated by the LFB and Metropolitan Police.