A photo from the National Archive shows Biggs after his arrest in Rio

The incident, revealed in UK archive papers released after three decades, came in 1974 as "Slipper of the Yard" tried to arrest the Great Train Robber.

The policeman, who died in August 2005 aged 81, flew to Rio after a newspaper tip-off but sparked a diplomatic row.

The secrecy of his actions angered UK diplomats and Brazilian authorities.

Fathered child

Mr Slipper failed to inform the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of his expedition and gave the Home Office only sketchy details.

Federal police in Brazil were also furnished with thin information before the arrest, a slight compounded when Mr Slipper returned to the UK and allegedly complained about the Brazilian police's lack of English.

Det Ch Supt Jack Slipper died in August 2005

There then followed tortuous negotiations between the UK and Brazil - countries which did not have an extradition arrangement - about how to return Biggs, who had escaped from Wandsworth prison in 1965.

In the event, Brazilian law meant he could not be returned because he had fathered a child by his mistress Raimunda da Castro.

The couple were married at Belmarsh prison three years ago, where an ailing Biggs has been kept since his return to the UK in 2001.

When Mr Slipper arrested Biggs on February 1, 1974, in room 909 of the Hotel Tropicana, Copacabana, the British consul had only been informed three hours earlier.

'Great hurry'

The detective was accompanied by a detective sergeant, a British consul representative and state and federal police, and Biggs was taken into local police custody.

The FCO then ordered the Flying Squad to make an apology to the chief of the federal police.

Interpol document from the mid-1960s describing Biggs

The incident was kept secret to prevent bad publicity - the press was already starting to dub the man who founded the first Robbery Squad "Slip-up Slipper".

In papers released by the National Archives a summary of events by the Nationality and Treaty Office of the FCO states: "When told where Biggs was, New Scotland Yard decided to send out to Rio de Janeiro two senior police officers.

"Arrangements for the journey of the two police officers were made in great secrecy and in a great hurry. They seemed to have had no clear indications or idea of what to do when they reached Rio."

Internal review

The ambassador Derek Dodson wrote: "It would be inappropriate for him to make a further visit here.

"The replacement of Inspector Garcia in Rio De Janeiro is unlikely to incline the police there to co-operate with Slipper."

However, the documents show Mr Slipper was cleared in an internal review of his handling of the situation.