Measurements are presented of the properties of the runaway beams generated in JET following disruptions. Radiation is emitted by the runaways, both when they are in flight and when they hit the vessel walls. Because radiation protected soft x-ray cameras were developed for the JET DT campaign, it has been possible to make the first direct observations of the runaway beam in flight from the x-ray line radiation produced by the beam excitation of K-shell vacancies in the metallic impurities of the residual plasma. These observations give clear images of the runaway beam and provide detailed information on its time development, size, position and stability. The current density and q-profile have also been determined. It has been found that there is a delay between the disruption and the start of runaway generation and this offers a possibility of instigating runaway control methods. Detailed determination of the runaway-wall interaction suggests that the runaways have a braided structure.