Meet The Team
The Longford Trust team brings a wealth of experience to the charity’s work.
The Office

Philippa Budgen
Scholarship Manager
Philippa runs the Longford Scholarships programme and works on the Frank Awards. A media consultant specialising in justice reform, Philippa has a Masters degree in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, and was a volunteer prison visitor for many years. Philippa has a background in broadcast journalism at the BBC. In her spare time, she runs, and plays netball.

Jacob Dunne
Slack Administrator
Jacob invigilates and curates our secure online platform on Slack for past and present scholars and mentors. He is a recent Longford scholar and graduate in criminology. He has worked in across both educational and criminal justice sectors, with a particular focus on restorative justice and conflict resolution.
Trustees

Rachel Billington
Rachel Billington OBE is a distinguished writer and associate editor of Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners. Her first novel, All Things Nice, was published in 1968. She was a reforming President of English PEN from 1998 to 2001 and is now an Honorary Vice-President of the writers’ organisation. She is the third of Lord Longford’s four daughters.

Jason Grant
Jason Grant is a journalist and criminologist who works to promote restorative justice. A former Longford Scholar, his career includes spells as a producer with BBC and independent radio stations in London and Manchester, as well as training young people in media production techniques in projects in Peckham, Hackney and Tottenham.

Tom Pakenham
Chair
Tom Pakenham is an eco-entrepreneur and investor. He was the founder and director of Green Tomato Cars and currently works in the clean energy sector. He serves and has served on a number of company boards and advisory groups. Tom is a qualified solicitor and has been a trustee of the Longford Trust since 2003. Read about Tom’s vision for the Longford Trust.

John Podmore
John Podmore is an author and freelance criminal justice consultant. He was for many years a prison governor. He has worked in Europe, USA, Australia and Mauritius and his most recent international work has been on behalf of Penal Reform International evaluating prison projects in Kazakhstan and training trainers in human rights and prison management in India and for Commonwealth countries across Africa.