The Longford Prize is an annual award presented in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to an organization, group, or individuals working in the field of social or penal reform. It was established in 2002 in honor of

Lord Longford Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, 1st Baron Pakenham, Baron Pakenham of Cowley, (5 December 1905 – 3 August 2001), known to his family as Frank Longford and styled Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician and ...

, a lifelong penal reform campaigner. It is sponsored by both ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', organised in association with the

Prison Reform Trust The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) was founded in 1981 in London, England, by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community punis ...

, and is presented at the annual

Longford Lecture The Longford Lectures are held annually in November in the circular Assembly Hall of Church House, Westminster. They aim to provide a national platform for a serious contribution to questions of social and penal reform. The Lectures are organised ...

. The prize is usually awarded to someone who has made a difference by their initiative and resourcefulness in prisoners' lives. The prize is sponsored by the McGrath Charitable Trust.

Nominations and judges

Candidates are nominated by the testimony of peers and/or persons who have benefited from their work. These submissions are reviewed by a panel of judges, members of the Prison Reform Trust and New Bridge. The panel is chaired by former prison governor and Longford Trust trustee, John Podmore. In 2017, the judges for the Longford Prize were:

Lord Ramsbotham General David John Ramsbotham, Baron Ramsbotham, (6 November 1934 – 13 December 2022) was a British Army officer, who later served as HM Chief Inspector of Prisons. He was awarded a life peerage in 2005, and later sat on the crossbenches of t ...

(formerly

His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief inspe ...

), Chloe Billington, Mary Riddell,

Peter Stanford Peter James Stanford (born 23 November 1961) is an English writer, editor, journalist and presenter, known for his biographies and writings on religion and ethics. His biography of Lord Longford was the basis for the 2006 BAFTA-winning film '' ...

, and a representative of the sponsors, The McGrath Charitable Trust.

Past winners

References

External links

Frank Longford Charitable Trust
{{Longford Prize Winners Humanitarian and service awards Human rights awards Imprisonment and detention Prison reform Penal system in the United Kingdom

Nominations and judges

Past winners

See also

References

External links