We are thrilled to announce that our recent BBC Radio 4 Appeal has raised over £54,000 - plus a fantastic £50,000 of match funding from a generous anonymous donor. We are so grateful to everyone who listened, shared and donated. This money will be vital in aiding the most vulnerable overseas British prisoners.

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Our appeal was recorded at Broadcasting House back in June by the brilliant Dame Harriet Walter. Dame Harriet has been a patron and supporter of Prisoners Abroad for many years now - having voiced a previous Radio 4 Appeal of ours back in 2012 - and it was fantastic to have her involved in this opportunity. Dame Harriet says:

Prisoners Abroad has been absolutely vital for decades and makes a huge difference to people’s lives – and not only the prisoner, but their families at home who are worried about them.

The appeal was first broadcast on Sunday 23rd June, and repeated the following Thursday. One of our trustees, Phil Maguire, featured on Radio 4's 'Pick of the Week' at the end of July, and kindly shared the audio from our appeal as one of his choices - which you can listen to here.

We have had such an amazing response from supporters both old and new, and this will make a marked difference for people affected by overseas imprisonment. The donations to this appeal will play an important part in how we maintain our critical services, and also how we develop them. 

It enables us to be ambitious about planning for the future, addressing common themes such as the long-term effects of isolation and coping with addiction – promoting our one-to-one advice service, distributing our wellbeing materials, and utilising those available from public bodies so that we offer a dependable reference service as part of our holistic approach. It also means we can assess the impact of our support to each individual by sending evaluation forms and encouraging feedback; learning more about how we can help their situation and improve their lives.

Thank you so much again to everyone who supported the appeal - and thank you to Sean, who so kindly agreed to share his story of overseas imprisonment in the broadcast. His words convey the true importance of our work, showing how Prisoners Abroad can impact real lives for the better. If you would like to read the full story of Sean's fifteen-year imprisonment in the Caribbean, you can find it below.

Read Sean's story

And, in case you missed it, the recording of our appeal is available to listen to via BBC Sounds.

Listen to the recording