The People Behind The Longford Trust

Peter is the founding director of the Longford Trust, and is Lord Longford’s official biographer. He is an author, editor, journalist and broadcaster, known for his biographies and writings on the history, theology and cultural significance of religious ideas.

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.

Jill organised the annual Longford Lecture from 2006 to 2019 when she moved into fundraising. She has spent much of her career overseas working for the United Nations.

Natasha is a former senior producer at the BBC. She now works as a coach and mentor in leadership development. She is a visiting lecturer at Cass Business School.

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.

Sara Boxer is the Office Manager for the Longford Trust. Sara brings over 20 years of experience in office management, accounting, fundraising and event organising.

Hannah Billington has held various roles in marketing, branding and the third sector.

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 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.

Victoria Greenwood is a criminologist and lawyer. Her first job was working with Lord Longford on his homelessness project in London’s Soho. She has taught at Middlesex University, specialising in penal history and women. As a solicitor, her practice was in criminal defence work.

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 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.

Jon Snow is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster, who since 1989 has presented Channel 4 News. His first job was after university was working alongside Lord Longford at New Horizon Youth Centre. He was Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.

Alex Fletcher has worked in the finance sector for 35 years. Most recently he founded an ethical lending firm which was finally sold to Greensil. Prior to that he worked for KKR and Goldman Sachs for 20 years in many different roles.