We would like to reflect back on 2025 and all you have helped us to achieve in the last twelve months - as well as a few challenges along the way - before we all dive headfirst into the new year... 

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In January...

Our crowdfunder raised over £16,000 with your help, meaning we can better support people resettling in the UK after prison with digital skills and financial literacy. Keep your eyes peeled for more match funding opportunities throughout 2026 where the impact of your support can be doubled.

In February...

We noted an increase in deportations from the USA - particularly at short-notice. People were arriving in the UK late at night, when support services are less readily available to them and the threat of homelessness on arrival is therefore very real. This increase has continued throughout the year and is reflected by a higher number of people imprisoned in the USA who need our support - a figure three times what it was last year. 

In March...

We published our new strategy - Support. Action. Hope. With three key threads - lived experience, collaboration, and speaking up, with and for people - we are very proud of our plans to develop. We will be looking at where we can do more, where we might work differently, how we maintain quality, develop sustainable capacity, and explore collaborations and partnerships. Ultimately, we want to be confident that we are having the greatest positive impact over the next five years. Our Lived Experience Advisory Group met for the first time at the end of December. Look out for more progress in 2026!

In April...

The next stage of our research project in partnership with the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology got underway, involving interviews with people who have accessed our resettlement service in the last seven years, to better understand how our support impacts desistence from crime following overseas imprisonment. The full findings of this research will be published next year, and we can’t wait to share them with you.

In May...

We started to see a significant increase in the number of overseas arrests of British citizens, specifically for drugs-related offences. Several high profile cases hit the news, with woman and younger people particularly impacted. This trend has unfortunately continued throughout the year and, while there are signs that numbers are plateauing, there are now many people facing long sentences in incredibly tough conditions who will need our ongoing support. Learn more.

In June...

Chief Executive Christopher Stacey took part in a roundtable at the University of Galway to inform good practice on the treatment of citizens imprisoned abroad across Europe. Advocating for improvements in policy and practice is a key part of our current strategy, so it was a valuable opportunity to draw on our experience ‘on the ground’ and to collaborate with other like-minded organisations. Read Christopher's blog.

In July...

We welcomed Carole Johnson as our new treasurer! Carole has been a supporter of our work for many years, having first become aware of us when she worked as Head of Consular Policy, Prisoners and Human Rights at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. You can read Carole’s recent blog post for Trustee Week here.

In August...

We published the third edition of our annual Cheal Report. Named after on of our founders, Chris Cheal, this report is compiled using data that Prisoners Abroad collected and had access to across 2024-25. It brings together important insights into the number and characteristics of British people that are in prisons around the world, their family and friends, and those that return to the UK each year.

In September... 

We began promoting the new Travel Aware campaign from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. In response to the rising number of British people arrested abroad, the campaign highlights the risks of drug smuggling, particularly via or originating from Thailand. This trend has contributed to the increase in arrests overseas and is something we will continue to raise awareness of into 2026.

In October...

We published our 2024-25 annual review. The number of people we are supporting in prison overseas has continued to rise, the cost of providing our frontline support has increased, and the fundraising climate is persistently challenging. Yet thanks to the commitment and determination of our team of staff and volunteers, and the support of our partners, donors, and trusts and foundations, we were able to help more people, deepen our support, raise more money and continue to operate effectively and with real impact. Download the report here.

In November... 

We were thrilled to be part of the prestigious Criminal Justice Alliance (CJA) Awards this year. Our short film, The impact of long term imprisonment, was shortlisted under the category ‘Best Film’ and went up against three brilliant pieces of work. The film has also been entered into the 2026 Smiley Charity Film Awards. We are so grateful to three family members - Angie, Cath and Sarah - for sharing their experience so honestly and vulnerably. Voting for the Smiley Charity Film Awards is open until 30th January 2026, so if you haven’t done so already, we would love for you to vote for us here!

In December...

With your help, we sent out 1,038 Christmas cards to 968 people to make the festive period a little more bearable for those serving an overseas sentence. Huge thanks to everybody who took part! If you would like to register your interest for the 2026 scheme, which will open in the autumn, you can do so here.

Thank you as always for your ongoing involvement in our work over the last year. We couldn’t weather these unpredictable storms without our community of supporters.

A very happy 2026 from all of us at Prisoners Abroad!