HCLC News

HCLC is delighted to announce that Owen Jones has joined the HCLC team as our new patron!!!!!!

Owen, a high-profile political commentator for The Guardian, The New Statesman and author of best selling books Chavs and The Establishment (pictured above) joins HCLC patrons including Diane Abbott MP, Sir Tony Robinson, Lord Low of Dalston, Tunde Okewale, Jean Lambert MEP, Jon Robins, Declan O'Callaghan and others (see a full list of HCLC patrons here) who support Hackney Community Law Centre’s work and our campaigns for better access to justice for Hackney residents.

 

Hackney Community Law Centre’s patrons all have a connection to Hackney – either having lived or worked here. All of the patrons have also been actively involved in campaigning in the public arena on social issues such as housing and immigration, which are the areas of specialist legal advice provided by Hackney Community Law Centre.

 

Over the summer, Owen visited the HCLC office to meet the team and find out more about our work. Having recently returned from visiting the Calais refugee camps for The New Statesman, Owen was visibly moved by what he heard about the types of cases HCLC has been working on.

 

He was also encouraged to hear about the work of law centres in other parts of the UK but was equally disappointed to hear that all of Greater Manchester's law centres have now closed as a result of cuts to funding. Despite the difficult times facing HCLC and other law centres, Owen encouraged us to keep going and continue to champion those that "often have little voice". Owen referred to HCLC as "activists" telling us, "I'm an activist through writing, you're activists through law".

Everyone at HCLC is very grateful to Owen for becoming our patron and helping us to promote better access to justice for Hackney residents.

 

Welcoming Owen as a Patron, HCLC Chair Ian Rathbone said: "I am delighted that Owen Jones has accepted our invitation to become a patron of Hackney Community Law Centre. Owen has lived in Hackney and knows the score about people needing access to justice.

Owen is an influential person and very much listened to by a new generation of people who need to hear the message of law centres about making justice accessible to those on low incomes or no incomes. Those people need voices to speak up for them and against growing injustice. We know that Owen is one of those voices."

 

Commenting on his appointment as a new HCLC patron, Owen Jones said: "I am beyond honoured to become a patron of a law centre that fights for people's rights, that courageously champions those who often have little vote, and which stands in the best traditions of social justice. Hackney Community Law Centre is a beacon and I hope I can do all I can to support its clients and team".

 

*A huge and warm welcome to HCLC's new patron Owen Jones!!!!!!*