**Talk**
An Evening with Jonathan Aitken
Enjoy an evening with Jonathan Aitken (assisted by ex-Pentonville Prisoner Dan Brown). Hear first-hand interesting stories from HMP Eton, HMP House of Commons, HMP The Cabinet and HMP Belmarsh.
£33 Each
Monday 12th June 2023
The Bridge Room (upstairs), The Prince Albert, 85 Albert Bridge Road, London SW11 4PF
Arrive at 7 pm - Drinks at the bar
The talk starts at 7.30 pm
Optional dinner at 8.30 pm
Expect an entertaining yet informative evening.
You may also change how you think about crime, prisons and their reform.
Format
For the first 20 minutes, Jonathan will present details of his life at Eton, being an MP, anecdotes about Margaret Thatcher (he was a close family friend) and his experience in John Major's Cabinet. He will then contrast that with his arrival at HMP Belmarsh - as an inmate. David Bradley will open with initial questions before inviting them from the floor.
About Jonathan Aitken
Old Etonian and Vietnam War correspondent Jonathan Aitken won his Parliamentary seat in 1974. He witnessed Margaret Thatcher's historic first election victory in 1979 as an MP. He served as the Minister for Defence Procurement under John Major and then was First Secretary to the Treasury in his Cabinet. In 1999 he was sent to prison for perjury. After his release, he became an Anglican priest, chaplain at HMP Pentonville and a leading advocate for prison reform.
He is also an author, lecturer and broadcaster.
Depending on your questions, you may discover
* What being a Cabinet Minister is like. Is Sir Humphrey Appleby your typical Permanent Private Secretary?
* How a succession of Justice Ministers failed prisons. What are the blockers to prison reform? Dan Brown will provide the latest on this.
* What Margaret Thatcher was really like. Jonathan wrote her biography: Margaret Thatcher: Power and Personality, borne from unique insights from being both colleague and family friend. What would Thatcher have thought about the current state of the UK, Brexit's progress and the Conservative Party today? We'll find out on 12th June.
Reverend Jonathan Aitken, Chaplain HMP Pentonville.
Photograph courtesy of Graham Guy Barratt: http://www.grahamguybarratt.com/
© Graham Guy Barratt.
*When at Eton, Jonathan was challenged to venture down a coal mine for a week by socialist firebrand Emrys Hughes MP. He lay on his back in claustrophobic darkness, chipping at the coalface with a pick, breathing noxious grimy air. How did it prepare him for his future? Indeed, how did Eton prepare him?
* Jonathan served his time in the most notorious wing (nicknamed Beirut) of the UK's most violent top security prison, Belmarsh. On his first night, a cacophony of banged metallic bars deprived Jonathan of sleep as prisoners shouted unprintable words about what they would do to him. The next day, calm as a cucumber but naturally rather nervous, Jonathan walked out into the exercise yard. Ask Jonathan what happened next.
*How did Jonathan's Christian faith help him survive Belmarsh? Would his faith be the same now if his fast-rising distinguished career path excluded prison?
* What is Jonathan's advice to Revellers should they find themselves in jail? (There, but for the Grace of God, go we!)
Monday 12th June 2023
The Bridge Room (upstairs), The Prince Albert, 85 Albert Bridge Road, London SW11 4PF
Arrive at 7 pm - Drinks at the bar
The talk starts at 7.30 pm
Optional dinner at 8.30 pm
£33 Each.