Championing the champions of prison reform
Kevin Pakenham (pictured above) took on the mantle of his father, the prison reformer Frank Longford, when he became the founding chair of The Longford Trust in 2002. Alongside his high-profile career in the City of London in finance, over 18 years, with unflagging energy and determination, until his sudden death in the summer of 2020, Kevin worked to make sure that the Trust supported those who had been in prison towards a better future, while at the same time – especially through his active participation in our annual Longford Lecture – pushing prisons, prisoners and prison reform up the public agenda. In his memory, with the support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation, we established the annual Kevin Pakenham Prize, awarded at our annual lecture by Kevin’s wife, the ITN journalist Ronke Phillips, to celebrate those in the public eye who have used that platform to argue that prisons must be a matter of national concern. Winners include: in 2021 the screenwriter Jimmy McGovern (see picture below); in 2022 the business leader James Timpson; and in 2023 the broadcaster Jon Snow.
Who is eligible?
Have you read an article or book in this year that has changed your view about prisons, or altered the public conversation? Perhaps you’ve seen a drama, watched or listened to a documentary, or heard a speaker challenging stereotypes of prisoners? Please let us know.
Our 2024 Winner
The Kevin Pakenham Prize went to playwright and screenwriter James Graham, whose last work, Punch, based on the memoir of Longford Scholar Jacob Dunne, transferred to London’s Young Vic in March 2025. James asked Jacob to accept the award on his behalf from Prisons’ Minister (and former winner) James Timpson (right).
“Prisons’ policy is rarely high on our national or political agenda, but my husband Kevin believed passionately in getting the public engaged in the subject of prison reform as the best possible way to bring about change in the criminal justice system and a greater focus on rehabilitation. So, in his memory, we established the Kevin Pakenham to recognise the public figure who each year we judges to have done the most to push prison reform up the list of priorities for us all.”
Ronke Phillips Pakenham, speaking at the 2024 Longford Lecture