Petition update
HELP KEEP UP PRESSURE!
Apr 20, 2018 — A frustrating day for Albert's campaign. As outlined in the Guardian, Albert still has not had treatment confirmed - "Thompson (not his real name) received a brief call on Wednesday night from a consultant at the Royal Marsden telling him that he would receive an appointment letter in “two or three weeks’ time,” and asking him in to come in so he could have some blood tests. He was despondent about the cursory nature of the contact. “He didn’t mention anything about radiotherapy,” Thompson said, noting that the hospital did not appear to be treating his case as particularly urgent. He remains concerned that despite the commitment from May that he was to receive treatment, the hospital seemed in no hurry to reschedule the 12-week series of daily radiotherapy sessions he was due to start last November, before he was told that he was not eligible for free treatment without proof that he was in the UK legally."
Today I called the Home Office press office and spoke to a pretty rude PR person who, when I said that almost 400,000 people wanted an answer about what was happening, replied with ‘I don’t need to be warned’ aggressively.
Thank you so much to everyone who tweeted at Theresa May and Amber Rudd this week - it’s clear we are ruffling feathers. What with our activity, May’s announcement and the widespread media coverage, I had hoped that we would be celebrating a victory by now. But we’re not. So I am asking everyone to do what I hope is one final action, and thanking you again from the bottom of my heart for sticking with Albert and myself over the past five weeks.
Please email the taskforce the govt. set up to deal with Windrush cases at the address below and call on them to contact Albert asap to sort out his cancer treatment, accommodation and any benefits he is entitled to. Please include why this is so important to you, and share any personal stories that you think will bring your email alive. Then, please post your email text in the comments below to inspire others to do the same and to show the media, politicians and Albert that you care.
Commonwealthtaskforce@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
PS. Here’s a video of a TV interview I did yesterday with a Latin American station which has a very big reach. Didn’t ever expect to be asked to do this, but it felt good to be raising more awareness of Albert’s plight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XJLtdfFMno&t=27s&app=desktop
I am trying not to update too much here, as I don't want people to feel I am spamming their inboxes. If you would like regular updates on Albert's case and this campaign, please follow me on twitter @quiline.
Best wishes
Jacqueline
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