Liberty - Protecting civil liberties, promoting human rights

In a moving speech at the announcement of the inaugural Desmond Elliott Prize last night, winner Nikita Lalwani said:

“In the UK right now, I don't think we can take basic elements of personal freedom for granted. Liberty is an organisation who campaign and fight for our rights as individuals across the board and I am glad they exist.”

Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti said:

“We are overwhelmed by Nikita Lalwani’s generosity in giving her hard won prize money to Liberty. In tough times it is so heartening to see an acclaimed writer recognizing the dangers of complacency about human rights in Britain. For a national campaigning organisation of only 25 staff, this kind of donation will make a real difference.”

Liberty is also known as the National Council for Civil Liberties. Founded in 1934, Liberty is a cross party, non-party membership organisation at the heart of the movement for fundamental rights and freedoms in England and Wales. Liberty promotes the values of individual human dignity, equal treatment and fairness as the foundations of a democratic society.

Nikita Lalwani was awarded the Desmond Elliott prize for her first novel Gifted, cited by The Bookseller as “one of the most coveted British fiction debuts of the year.”

Contact: Jen Corlew on 0207 378 3656 or 0797 3 831 128