On Friday 18th March eight brave members of the community underwent a fake criminal arrest by a real police officer in uniform outside Harrow Crown Court in the lead up to St Luke’s Jail and Bail event.
In an effort to raise money for St Luke’s the following people were ‘arrested’ by Harrow Police:
- Bob Blackman MP, MP for Harrow East
- Navin Shah, London Assembly Member for Harrow and Brent
- Cllr Bill Stephenson, Leader of Harrow Council
- Kali Chakraborty, President, Kenton and Kingsbury Rotary
- Chris McDermott, Head Teacher, Marlborough Primary School
- Dave Chapman, St Luke’s Hospice Head Chef
- Ketan Mandalia, Direct of Blue Ginger and Blue Zenzer
- Ajay Maru, Director of Salon Sleek and Councillor of Kenton West Ward
Following on from the ‘arrest’, the press had the opportunity to question some of the ‘detainees’.
Navin Shah AM (above right), London Assembly Member for Harrow and Brent says, ‘I feel really good to be supporting this really worthwhile cause. For St Luke’s I am a persistent offender yet again and I am going for a sentence which I deserve. It was great to participate in this Jail and Bail event a couple of years ago and this why I’m doing it again. I am doing this for St Luke’s because I support the great service that they provide not only to patients and their effort to improve their quality of life but to the carers as well. It is for this reason that I will spend any amount of time in jail to demonstrate my association and support to the Hospice.’
Bob Blackman MP (above left), MP for Harrow East says: 'St Luke’s is a charity I have supported since it first began. A councillor from my constituency, Tom Taylor, was one of the founders of St Luke's and another councillor Arthur Steele sadly died in St Luke’s recently. I have supported the Hospice through various different fundraising efforts. The Jail and Bail is a risky approach as I’m being arrested and I think I will get more contributions to keep me in jail than to set me free!’
Chris McDermott (above left), Head Teacher, Marlborough Primary School says, ‘Hopefully it will be the only time I will be in Jail. It’s a piece of theatre and I enjoy being a performer. I cannot think of a better charity to support than St Luke’s and anyone would understand the need to have palliative care in their last days. The school have supported St Luke’s in the past. We did a murder mystery a few months ago and are very much in favour of the fantastic work St Luke’s do.’
Kali Chakraborty (above right), President of Kingsbury and Kenton Rotary Club says, ‘I feel excited about taking part in the Jail and Bail event. It is good fun and a new concept for fundraising. The Rotary Club has been working with St Luke’s for over 20 years and every year we give money to St Luke’s and make sure we help them with different fundraising activities. A friend of mine died of cancer and seven days before his death he told me he had been treated so well by St Luke’s and that it was one of the best places he had been for care.’
The Jail and Bail event takes place on Friday 1st April and these brave members of the community have agreed to be held in police cells until they can raise £1000 ‘bail’ money each, in aid of St Luke’s.
Please help our ‘prisoners’ get out of jail and pledge your sponsorship at www.justgiving.com/jailandbail2011. For more information about the event, contact Esther on 020 8382 8023.
