Our patrons
Nazir Afzal OBE
Nazir Afzal was Chief Crown Prosecutor for NW England and formerly Director in London. Most recently, he was Chief Executive of the country’s Police & Crime Commissioners. He has prosecuted some of the most high profile cases in the country and advised on many other and led nationally on several legal topics including Violence against Women & Girls, child sexual abuse, and honour based violence.
He is the Chair of Hopwood Hall. He was appointed to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). He is also National Adviser on Gender Based Violence to the Welsh Government. Most recently he joined the advisory board of Google’s Innovation Fund for counter-extremism and is the Chancellor of Manchester University.
Photo by Shaanop
Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes is the author of several books of stories, essays, a translation of Alphonse Daudet's In the Land of Pain, and numerous novels, including the 2011 Man Booker Prize winning novel The Sense of an Ending and the stunning The Only Story. Other publications include Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art and The Man in the Red Coat.
His most recent book is Changing My Mind, an exploration of what is involved when we change our minds: about words, about politics, about books; about memories, age and time.
Photo by Urszula Soltys
Rex Bloomstein
One of the founding members of Freedom from Torture in 1985 when it was known as the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. He later went on to be Chairman until retiring from the board and becoming a patron. He is a documentary film director who began his career with the BBC and has taken a particular interest in imprisonment in this country, questioning its impact on the people sent there and revealing prison life as never seen before.
His pioneering documentaries include The Sentence, Release, a trilogy on Prisoners Wives, Parole Parts One and Two, his British Academy-award winning series Strangeways, and Lifer, made in the 1980s. In recent years he has returned to the subject with Strangeways Revisited (2001) Lifer, Living with Murder (2003)., and Kids Behind Bars (2005).
Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com
Lord Alf Dubs
Labour Peer and former MP for Battersea. Alf Dubs arrived in Britain on a Kindertransport train from Prague in 1938 when he was six years old. He was MP for Battersea from 1979 to 1987 and has served in the House of Lords since 1994, when he was appointed a Labour peer. He has also served as a director of the Refugee Council. He is a life-long advocate for refugees, in particular unaccompanied child refugees in Europe.
Photo by TOLGA AKMEN / Getty Images
Dominic Grieve KC
Barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Beaconsfield from 1997 to 2019 and was the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee from 2015 to 2019.
Photo by Chris McAndrew
Nick Hornby
Nick is best known for his memoir Fever Pitch (1992) and novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, all of which were adapted into feature films.
Hornby's work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists. His books have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide as of 2018. He has received two Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay nominations for An Education (2009), and Brooklyn (2015).
Photo by Joe Mabel
Helena Kennedy KC
Scottish barrister, broadcaster, and Labour member of the House of Lords. She was Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford, from 2011 to 2018. A Bencher of Gray's Inn, an Honorary Writer to the Signet and the recipient of 42 Honorary Degrees from many universities including those of Glasgow and Edinburgh in recognition of work on women and the law and on widening participation in higher education.
She is President of Justice, the law reform think tank, and is also director of the International Bar Association's Institute of Human Rights. In 2024, Kennedy succeeded Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury as Chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom.
Photo by Roger Harris
Hanif Kureishi CBE
Playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, and novelist. He is known for his film My Beautiful Laundrette and novel The Buddha of Suburbia.
Hanif is one of Britain’s foremost playwrights, screenwriters and novelists.
Alongside his play and screenwriting, he has achieved considerable success as a novelist with The Buddha of Suburbia winning the Whitbread first novel award in 1990, continuing to later novels and films notably Intimacy, Venus, Le Week-End and The Nothing.
Hanif was appointed CBE in 2008 and his archive was acquired by the British Library in 2014.
Photo by Nrbelex
John McCarthy CBE
British journalist, writer, and broadcaster. He was Britain's longest-held hostage in the Lebanon hostage crisis, being held for more than five years until his release in 1991. This experience was explored in the film Blind Flight and in the best-selling book Some Other Rainbow (co-written with Jill Morrell). John’s other books are (with Brian Keenan) Between Extremes, A Ghost Upon Your Path: An Irish Journey, and You Can't Hide the Sun: A Journey through Palestine.
Alongside his writing, John has pursued a broadcasting career, with many of his programmes reflecting his knowledge of and interest in travel, religion and history. He has worked for the BBC, ITV, Sky Arts and Al Jazeera.
Photo by REX
Dame Helen Mirren
English actor. In a career spanning 60 years, she is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, five Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.
Mirren was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.
Photo by David Venni
Sir Michael Palin
Michael Palin is a British comedian, actor, writer, and travel documentarian best known for his work with the Monty Python comedy troupe. He has also starred in and written numerous other TV shows and films, including Ripping Yarns and The Missionary, as well as the film The Death of Stalin.
Beyond comedy, Palin is renowned for his travel documentaries, which have taken him to various locations like the North and South Poles, the Sahara Desert, and the Himalayas. He has also written several books, including memoirs and travel accounts, and served as president of the Royal Geographical Society. He was honoured with a BAFTA fellowship in 2013 and a knighthood in 2019.
Photo by John Swannell
Sir Simon Rattle
Renowned British conductor, best known for his extensive work with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), the Berlin Philharmonic (BPO), and the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO).
He has been a leading figure in the classical music world for decades, known for his dynamic conducting style and commitment to both traditional and contemporary repertoire.
Photo by Monika Rittershaus
Professor Philippe Sands
Eminent lawyer, professor of law, and writer. Philippe has taken part in prominent trials held in the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, including the cases of Pinochet, the war in former Yugoslavia, the Rwanda genocide, and the invasion of Iraq. He has written more than fifteen books and also frequently writes for such publications as the Financial Times and The Guardian. He served as president of English PEN from February 2018 until April 2023.
His book East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity traces the past of his family and ponders the Holocaust through the lens of the Nuremberg trials. The Ratline: Love, Lies and Justice on the Trail of a Nazi Fugitive focuses on the figure of Otto Wächter to probe the inhuman dimension of Europe’s recent past. In his most recent book 38 London Street, Philippe explores the links between the dictatorship in Chile, Nazism and colonial history.
Photo by Chatham House
Fiona Shaw CBE
Fiona is one of the most recognised and highly praised actors of her generation, known for her ground-breaking theatre performances as well as her many film and television roles, including Harry Potter, Killing Eve and Bad Sisters.
Photo by Margot Schulman
Juliet Stevenson CBE
Juliet Stevenson is an acclaimed actress known for her profound performances across stage, film, and television. She has worked extensively for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the Royal Court, winning an Olivier award for her performance as Paulina in Death and The Maiden in 1991.
Recent theatre credits include Blindness at the Donmar Warehouse, Wings and Happy Days at the Young Vic. Her films include Let Me Go; Truly, Madly, Deeply; Bend it Like Beckham; Being Julia; and Mona Lisa Smile.
Photo by Julian Andrews/Eye R8 Productions Ltd