On the inside: HMP Pentonville’s mental health breakthrough

Date: 

21 November 2023

Tickets: 

£25

Location: 

Buckingham House Lecture Theatre Murray Edwards College Cambridge CB3 0DF

Former MP, prisoner and chaplain Jonathan Aitken, Governor of HMP Pentonville Ian Blakeman and Custodial Manager Neil Fraser will lift the lid on mental health in prisons and the breakthroughs which have transformed care for neurodiverse prisoners at this year’s Ormiston Families annual lecture.

Jonathan is a former Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister, and ex-prisoner. He became a Christian while serving a prison sentence for perjury in 1999 and is now a Prison Chaplain at HMP Pentonville. He has become an advocate for better mental health treatment in prisons and has spoken openly about his own experiences while serving his sentence.

Ian Blakeman and Neil Fraser have overseen HMP Pentonville’s transformation in approach to neurodiversity among prisoners, with a new Neurodevelopmental Unit offering calm and care to prisoners with autism and other conditions.

At this year’s Ormiston Families lecture, they will reveal the fascinating insights they have gleaned from this groundbreaking work and speak about the challenges of the prison system’s mental health crisis.

Our annual lecture is a unique opportunity to hear first-hand from those achieving change on the inside of prison – and a chance to quiz them on their work.

Doors will open at 6pm for a 6.30pm start.

To book your tickets, please use the booking form below.