Ronnie Biggs, one of the Great Train Robbers, will today be told he is free to leave prison into the care of a nursing home.

Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, will sign his parole papers, The Times has been told, despite concerns that the robber may play on his notoriety.

However Biggs is recovering in the Norfolk and Norwich University hospital after breaking his hip in a fall at the weekend at Norwich prison.

Three prison guards keep a 24-hour watch on the 79-year-old who was injured when he fell from his bed in prison at the weekend. Doctors want to operate but fear that he would not survive the procedure. He is likely to be in hospital for several more weeks.

Times Archive, 1965: Train trial man escapes

Ronald Arthur Biggs, serving 30 years, escaped yesterday afternoon from Wandsworth gaol with three other convicts

• Archive Topic: The Great Train Robbery

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As soon as he is well enough he will be moved to the care home in Barnet, north London, near to his son Michael.

Biggs, who will be 80 in August, has suffered a series of strokes and is unable to speak. He communicates through gestures and by spelling out words with an alphabet board. He is fed through a tube in the stomach and can walk only a few steps unaided.

Negotiations have been taking place to decide who will pay for his round-the-clock medical care and it is believed that Barnet Primary Care Trust has agreed to cover the cost.

The Times reported in April that the probation officer overseeing Biggs had recommended his early release. He has served ten years of the 30-year jail term imposed in 1964 for his part in the £2.5 million — £40 million at today’s prices — robbery of the Glasgow to London mail train.

Documents seen by The Times show that the officer recommended release even though she believed he had no regrets about his life.

The probation officer’s report said that he was suitable for early release on parole licence as long as he had a care package to manage his health needs.

The document notes that Biggs has in the past sought to play on his celebrity status, which could lead to an issue of risk management on his release.

Giovanni di Stefano, who represents Biggs, said: “The Ministry of Justice told me yesterday that a decision would be made today.

“All the work has been done and all the preparations put in place for him to be released. It would be cruel and unusual punishment if any other decision is taken.

“Mr Biggs is legitimately expecting that the Parole Board recommendations should be adhered to.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We have made no announcement on any decision. It is possible it will happen today.”

The move to free Biggs is likely to prove controversial given his role in one of the most notorious robberies of the 20th century and his life of indolence in Brazil during 36 years on the run.

Biggs served only 15 months of his sentence before escaping by scaling a 30ft wall. He went to France, Australia and Brazil, where he lived openly for three decades, safe from extradition because he had fathered a child by a Brazilian woman.

He returned to Britain in 2001, impoverished and ill. His son was given British citizenship after his parents married in Belmarsh jail, southeast London, in 2002.

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