In a brand new series, Millwall Community Trust will be finding out a bit more about our Trustees.
Next up is Sir Simon Hughes…
Could you please introduce yourself and a little bit about your history?
I am Simon Hughes - and have lived just off the Old Kent Road for over 45 years, and started going to Millwall games soon after I moved here. Our dad was a good sportsman and all four of the boys in our family were keen on sport - especially rugby ( because we have Welsh roots), cricket, tennis and golf as well as football. I was a lawyer and youth worker when I first moved here and then became the Liberal MP for Bermondsey in 1983 and was reelected to parliament eight times until I lost in 2015. I had the privilege to be Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader for 4 years and the Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties for my last two years in parliament. I now work part-time for a high speed rail company, am the Chancellor of London South Bank University and a trustee of two other local charities as well as MCT - the Friends of Guy’s and St Thomas’s Hospitals and the Rose Theatre Trust, as well as helping in my local church in Bermondsey. My most exciting Millwall days have been the FA Cup run that led us to the final in Cardiff and the seasons when we gained promotion - including when I helped to organise the open-top celebration tour through Bermondsey to Westminster and a reception in the House of Commons. Millwall’s team and fans in parliament was a very great and special day. Who would have guessed? I ought to own up that for family reasons I also support Liverpool - as well as Fisher FC locally.
How long have you been a trustee with Millwall Community Trust?
In 2015 I became a trustee - and so at the end of this year come to the end of the nine years which is the maximum permitted for a trustee under Charity Commission rules. A few years ago I became the Deputy Chair of Trustees. It has bean a privilege to be a trustee and support the Trust and the Club, and work with some great trust colleagues - trustees and Sean and the staff team. One of the things I am most proud of is that I have been able to make sure our group of trustees has become much more diverse than when I started - four of our trustees are now women, we are no longer an all-white board and with a much younger average age than when I started. And we now recruit new trustees by regular open advertisement - which is the right thing to do.
Why did you become a trustee at Millwall Community Trust
The short answer is that John Berylson asked me to become a trustee - and as a big JB admirer I said yes! I also had been very impressed by our previous Chairmen, many of whom became friends. I hoped that I could bring some good ideas and skills to the Trust. Others will have to decide if I have done a decent job. But I am confident that the Trust is in very good hands - and admire hugely the great work that we do week in and work out. I am very confident that we have a great future. Thank you all. And let’s hope that this year the Club makes the play-offs, and better!
To find out more about MCT’s Trustees visit: https://www.millwallcommunity.org.uk/our-trustees">https://www.millwallcommunity.org.uk/our-trustees
