An award-winning group of students dedicated to campaigning for social justice were invited to a prestigious reception at the Houses of Parliament.
The Amnesty International group based at Buntingford’s Freman College hobnobbed with political heavyweights including speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn at the Human Rights Day reception.
As if that wasn’t enough, the group then bumped into actor and political activist Ricky Tomlinson who was there for a debate about the Shrewsbury 24 case – and they spotted Apprentice star Lord Alan Sugar in the House of Lords, too.
The college group has won a string of Amnesty International awards in recent years, including one for fundraising.
Its leader, head of history Mark Trapmore, has been hailed with an award as Amnesty’s most inspirational youth group leader.
The Freman group has been taking part in Amnesty’s letter-writing marathon Write For Rights, billed as the biggest human rights campaign in the world.
The campaign involves sending personal messages of support and solidarity to people who have been put behind bars, or whose lives are in serious danger, as a result of them trying to exercise their human rights.
Holly Shorey, a Freman College student who has just been appointed to the national Amnesty Youth Advisory Group, said: “We are lucky to live in a country like the UK where our basic human rights are usually respected.
“On International Human Rights Day it’s important to remember, and take action on behalf of those who are being persecuted, prosecuted and threatened for standing up for what they believe in.”
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