The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols Expand The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, was appointed in 2009, having previously served as Archbishop of Birmingham and Auxiliary bishop of Westminster, for which he was the youngest Catholic bishop in the UK. He is also President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. He is a supporter of the importance of rehabilitation of prisoners and has spoken out in support of Catholic prison chaplaincy. He participates in Prisons’ Week which is an annual reflection and prayer for all those affected by crime, including prisoners, their families and former offenders.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis Expand Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has been a Prisoners Abroad patron since 2013. Having grown up in apartheid South Africa, where his father visited political prisoners held on Robben Island, his understanding of the importance of prisoners’ rights is the same as that of Prisoners Abroad. Mirvis was appointed Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth in 2012, and was previously Chief Rabbi of Ireland from 1985-1992 and rabbi at Finchley United Synagogue from 1996. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to the Jewish community, interfaith relations and education.
The Rt. Revd. Rachel Treweek, Bishop to HM Prisons Expand Bishop Rachel was consecrated as the 41st Bishop of Gloucester at Canterbury Cathedral and formally began her new role in September 2015. She entered the House of Lords in October 2015. She has made history with a number of firsts: when she became the first female diocesan bishop in the Church of England; and when she became the first female bishop in the House of Lords. Bishop Rachel’s first career was as a speech and language therapist. After six years as a paediatric speech therapist in the National Health Service, she left her job to train for ordination in the Church of England. Currently she serves as Bishop for Her Majesty’s Prisons across England and Wales, and as president of charity the Nelson Trust, she is a vociferous campaigner – particularly for women serving short sentences.
The Right Hon. Lord Neuberger Expand Lord Neuberger’s legal career started in 1974. His work in criminal justice and law include his appointment of Lord Justice of Appeal and a member of the Privy Council. Lord Neuberger’s rise to the Court of Appeal and then to the House of Lords was one of the quickest in recent times. Some of his notable achievements include his lead in an investigation for the Bar Council into widening access to the Bar, and serving on the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions. He retired from President of the Supreme Court in the summer of 2017, after a five year service. Lord Neuberger was a trustee of Prisoners Abroad from 2017-2025. He became a patron in 2025. Read about Lord Neuberger joining Prisoners Abroad in December 2017.
Viscountess Harriet Bridgeman CBE Expand Viscountess Harriet Bridgeman CBE is the founder of the Bridgeman Art Library, a company that provides a large collection of fine art images. During her time as an editor and author, Harriet Bridgeman discovered the need for easier access to illustrations of works of art. The concept of the Bridgeman Art Library emerged in 1972 and developed to allow users to access thousands of images at the same time providing extra income for the museums, collections, artists and institutions which it represents. In 1997, Harriet was awarded the European Women of Achievement Award in the Arts. The award was given in recognition of the Bridgeman Art Library's promotion of European culture and the European scope of its clients, collections and research. Harriet has been a supporter of Prisoners Abroad for many years.
Lady Brooke Expand Lady Brooke is a supporter of Prisoners Abroad and regularly attends our events. Lady Brooke advocates for and supports a number of prison charities including New Bridge, which help offenders reconnect with the outside world whilst in prison through a volunteer befriending scheme.
Sir David Wootton Expand Alderman Sir David Wootton was the 684th Lord Mayor of the City of London, serving 2011-2012, and Sheriff of the City 2009-2010. He has been an Alderman of the City of London representing the Ward of Langbourn since 2005, stepping down in October 2023.He was a lawyer by profession, a partner in Allen & Overy LLP, the international law firm, from 1979 to 2015. He advised on corporate finance transactions and best-practice compliance with law regulation in corporate governance. Sir David was knighted in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to legal business, charity, and the City of London. Sir David has been a patron of Prisoners Abroad for many years.
Dame Harriet Walter Expand Dame Harriet Walter is passionate about advocacy for female prisoners and has supported us for a number of years. She is also patron of Clean Break, a charity and theatre company dedicated to sharing the often hidden stories of imprisoned women. Dame Harriet is an esteemed actor, well known for a number of roles, most recently in Succession, Killing Eve, The Crown, Downton Abbey and Ted Lasso. In 2011, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to drama. Dame Harriet was the voice of our BBC Radio 4 appeal in 2012 and again more recently in 2023, and has also spoken at events. Learn more about our 2023 Radio 4 appeal and listen to Dame Harriet's recording here.
Hon. David Bernstein Expand David Bernstein is one of the earliest supporters of Prisoners Abroad, having served on the board of trustees for over 25 years and as a former chairman before becoming a patron of Prisoners Abroad. He is now the chair of The Forward Trust and continues to actively promote our work. He is interested not only in penal affairs, but also drug and alcohol addiction more widely, human rights and refugee issues.
Kevin Fitzgerald CMG Expand Kevin Fitzgerald CMG is Secretary General of The International Authors' Forum and a Member of the Governing Body at Regent's College, University of Oxford. He was a Director at the UN World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva for ten years until 2025. He was previously Chief Executive of the UK’s Copyright Licensing Agency from 2007 to 2014 and Chair of the European Union Group for Reproduction Rights Organisations from 2008 to 2015. In earlier roles he was the Independent Member of the Public Diplomacy Partners Group at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Non-Executive Director of the East of England Tourist Board, Managing Director of Rough Guides and leader of the Better World campaign for DFID (the Department for International Development). He became a Trustee of Prisoners Abroad in 2008 and took on the role of Chair between 2009 and 2014. In 2013 Kevin was awarded a CMG for “services to British economic interests, particularly the promotion of intellectual property internationally and the welfare of British nationals in prison abroad”.
Dominic Grieve KC Expand Dominic Grieve KC has been a patron since 2015. He is the former Attorney General for England and Wales and was previously the shadow Secretary of State for Justice, as well as the shadow Home Secretary and Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee. He is currently a co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Penal Affairs Group which recognises prisoners’ rights and well-being. Grieve is the president of the Franco-British Society, was awarded the Legion of Honour in 2016, and broadcasts in French on French radio and television. Dominic has spoken at a number of events and is an active supporter of Prisoners Abroad’s work.
Martin Paisner CBE Expand Martin is a long-term supporter of Prisoners Abroad. He is a Private Client solicitor, a partner with Payne Hicks Beach since May 2020, having qualified in 1970 and been a partner with his late father’s practice, Paisner & Co (subsequently BCLP) since 1972. He is well-known in the charity sector, acting as a trustee for several grant-making foundations and operational charities. He was appointed CBE in June 2004 in recognition of his charitable services. Martin is an Honorary Fellow of Queen Mary, University of London, Worcester College, Oxford, King’s College London and the Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel. He also holds Honorary Doctorates of the University of Glasgow, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel and the Open University Israel. He is a member of the Garrick Club and the Reform Club.
Richard Price Expand Richard served as Chair of Trustees for Prisoners Abroad for 7 years, stepping down at the end of 2020, but remains a passionate supporter of the work of the charity. He began his career as a Probation Officer, before being appointed Deputy Director of the International Year of the Child. He founded a public relations and marketing consultancy called The EuroPR Group where he was Managing Director for 25 years. During that time, he was also a Board Director of The Public Relations Consultants Association and Chairman of its International Committee. Richard is also former Chairman of The Oxford and Cambridge Club, the Merton Chamber of Commerce and Vice President of the Council of American States in Europe. He is a trustee of The Sixteen, a world-renowned UK choir, and a former trustee of the Merton Homelessness Project.
Jon Snow Expand Jon Snow is a journalist and television presenter, best known as the longest-running presenter of Channel 4 News, which he presented from 1989 to 2021. He reported on many hard-hitting cases including those concerning prisoners’ rights and those detained overseas. He has been a great supporter of our work for over 20 years, and has a keen interest in prison issues and homelessness. Jon was previously the Chairman of the Prison Reform Trust from 1992-1997, and is currently also a trustee of the African Prisoners Project and a patron of Reprieve. Jon has assisted us with our fundraising activities and digital campaigns over the years, appearing in short films and making impassioned appeals for us.
Kit de Waal Expand Kit served as a trustee of Prisoners Abroad from 2011 to 2014. She has worked in the criminal justice system for the majority of her working life, in criminal and family law and as a magistrate (Justice of the Peace). She sat on adoption panels, worked as an adviser for Social Services and has written training manuals on adoption and foster care, focusing on mixed parentage, minority ethnic communities, social cohesion and project management. Her debut novel My Name Is Leon was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017. In 2022 it was adapted for television by the BBC. Her second novel, The Trick to Time, was longlisted for the Women's Prize and her young adult novel Becoming Dinah was shortlisted for the Carnegie CLIP Award 2020. A collection of short stories, Supporting Cast, was published in 2020. An anthology of working-class memoir, Common People, was crowdfunded and edited by Kit in 2019. Kit founded her own TV production company, Portopia Productions and the Big Book Weekend, a free digital literary festival in 2020 and was named the FutureBook Person of the Year 2019. She is an ambassador of Well-being in the Arts and a trustee of The Reading Agency. Kit is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Professor and Writer in Residence at Leicester University. Her memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes was published in August 2022. Read Kit's blog on our work - 'One simple question: What do you need?'
Michael Willcox Expand Michael has been involved with Prisoners Abroad since 1994. He graduated in law from Manchester University and qualified as a solicitor in 1970. He has been a partner in a small number of law firms, both large and small, until his retirement from the SRA roll in July 2022. He was elected to The Academy of Estate and Trust Law, based in San Francisco, in 1984. He is a trustee of three charitable trusts and retired from eight other general purposes charities in more recent times.