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2009 Robin McNair prize ceremony, 13 January 2010
(Click on the images below for high resolution photographs suitable for publication and printing)
Westminster, 13 January 2010 - David Burrowes MP presented the 2009 Robin McNair Prize in the Houses of Parliament today. Student-contestants wrote essays on bioethical issues including abortion, human embryos and the rights of the disabled:
Young prizewinners and others pictured at the McNair awards. From left to right: Joanna Bogle (essay judge), Sara & Christopher Nightingale with their daughter Emily (2nd prize), David Burrowes MP, Rick & Trudie Jones with their daughter Kirsty (1st prize), Dexter Leung (3rd prize) with his brother Nicholas, Duncan McNair (son of Robin McNair)
The Robin McNair Prize commemorates Squadron Leader Robin McNair, DFC and bar (biography), one of Britain's leading fighter pilots in the second world war:
After the war, fought for the rights of the unborn through his membership of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC). The competition is jointly sponsored by the SPUC Education and Research Trust and the McNair family.
The 2009 prize was won by Miss Kirsty Jones, 17, of the High School for Girls, Gloucester:
Kirsty's essay was entitled: "Is abortion justified if the unborn baby has a disability?" She chose the subject because she is interested in making church and faith life accessible to disabled people. Kirsty is currently in Year 13 and plans to read theology at Cambridge university. She hopes to be active at Cambridge on the issue of rights for the disabled. Kirsty was accompanied to the ceremony by her parents Rick and Trudie:
Second prize went to Miss Emily Nightingale, 15, of Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, Cheshire:
Emily also chose the subject: "Is abortion justified if the unborn baby has a disability?". She chose the subject because she had the strongest opinion on it among the three subjects in the competition. Emily is now in Year 11 and hopes to become a film and television scriptwriter. She was accompanied to the ceremony by her parents Christopher and Sara:
Mr Dexter Leung, 16, of Eton College, Windsor, came third:
Dexter's chosen subject was: "Is a human embryo a potential life or a human life with potential?". He chose the subject as it had come up in religious education classes. Dexter plans to read law at Cambridge and hopes to be active in pro-life activities there. He was accompanied to the ceremony by his brother Nicholas:
The first prizes were of £250, second prizes £150 and third prizes £100. Each of the winners' schools received a similar sum to the amount that the students won. It is to be used for educational purposes.
John Smeaton, SPUC director, opened the prize-giving ceremony:
Mr Smeaton said:
"It's now ten years since the Robin McNair prize was first offered to young people in the United Kingdom. For the latest competition, we received almost one hundred and fifty entries from more than thirty schools. Mr Burrowes was one of the judges. So was Mr Edmund Adamus, director of pastoral affairs for the Catholic archdiocese of Westminster. Our other distinguished judge was Mrs Joanna Bogle, the journalist and author and a long-standing friend of SPUC's."
David Burrowes, Conservative MP for Enfield Southgate, was the ceremony's host:
Mr Burrowes that he was up Helvellyn, a mountain in the Lake District, when he read the student's essays. He said that the "handiwork" of Helvellyn was the same handiwork as the development of unborn children. Mr Burrowes explained that it had been his involvement with SPUC as a student pro-life activist at university that had encouraged him to enter politics. He said that there was a need for people to speak with "passion and depth" about the respect for the sanctity of life.
Duncan McNair paid tribute to his father Robin McNair:
Duncan recounted his father's stalwart character and his compassion both during and after the war. Duncan displayed an impressive array of precious wartime memorabilia with the ceremony's attendees. Duncan expressed his fears about the current pro-life situation, citing the recent Tysiac judgment by the European Court of Human Rights.
