Thank you to John Samuels

PET thanks His Honour John Samuels QC for his significant contribution to our work since his appointment as a Trustee in January 2000; his Chairmanship of the Board between 2006-2012; and his subsequent role as President since 2012.

A judge for 32 years, and a judicial member of the Parole Board for his maximum term of 10 years, John is a former Chair of the Criminal Justice Alliance (of which PET are founder members); a Patron of the Revolving Doors Alliance and of Prisoners’ Advice Service; a former trustee of the Howard League for Penal Reform; and a Vice President of Unlock, AMIMB and Tempus Novo.

As part of a review of patrons and other ambassadorial roles, which is ongoing, PET’s Board of Trustees decided that PET should no longer have a President. As a result John Samuels retired from the role at the end of 2021.

All of us at PET would like to thank John for his immense contribution to our work and for his ongoing commitment to prison education and to prison reform more broadly. John has played a pivotal role in PET’s development over the years and we would not be where we are today without his guidance and support.