Falsely Accused Tapestry – first outing

There has been a lot of progress on the FACT tapestry and we achieved our aim of having a few panels to take to the International Falsely Accused Day peaceful demonstration outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on the 9th September, 2026.

Actually, we managed 6 panels, and I’m delighted to say the they received a lot of attention and a great deal of very positive comments and praise.

I did manage to intercede into proceedings and spoke a few words about the project and I was grateful for the opportunity to do so.

When I first arrived, I considered hanging the panels from the railings in front of the Royal Courts of Justice but, we were told that the rules had changed and now we were not permitted to do so, nor even have them on the floor resting against the railings! This seemed rather petty and being awkward for the sake of being awkward, but then what should I have expected from the Royal Courts of Justice?!

In the end, I placed them on the concrete seating, the first three leaning at an angle on the top, with the lower three against the back rest and a couple of bits of ‘blurb’ I’d created on laminated sheets which gave info about FACT and about the tapestry project.

In the end, it may have been a blessing in disguise. One of the slight problems of our gathering is that we monopolise the pavement somewhat, which leads to passers-by avoiding us by walking onto the road behind the group, which is a shame. 

However, some people, as they walked behind the concrete seating, noticed the tapestry and stopped to take a look, which they probably would not have done, if they’d been attached to the railings.

Background

The FACT ‘Tapestry’ came about as aa idea to help promote FACT and bring more awareness to the suffering of the falsely accused. 
We all know that most of the public are not really interested as fall for the rhetoric that false allegations are rare, so they think it will never apply to them, and some are naive enough to believe that we are defending genuine offenders. We need, somehow, to encourage people to listen to our arguments and hear the truth.
A project with intrigue and visual allure might just attract people who would otherwise walk on.

Technique

Like the Bayeux Tapestry, currently on loan in the British Museum, the FACT Tapestry is not really a tapestry. Rather than one long, continuous panel, ours consists of a number of different panels, embroidered by different people. 

I came up with a series of ideas to show different stages of the traumatic ordeal suffered by the falsely accused and their families. These would show an image which, I hope, captured the essence of the scene and some additional related text.

I printed the designs onto multiple A3 pages to make a 60 x 40 cm image from which my wife traced the outlines onto the fabric.
The fabric was then sent, along with a copy of the overall design of the panel, an embroidery ring and necessary threads, to various volunteers, who stitched the outlines. They then sent them back and my wife filled in the different areas with acrylic dye following the original designs and we pinned them under tension to an artist’s 60 x 40 cm frame.

One artistically minded volunteer designed and embroidered her own panel – more on that below.

I would like to express heartfelt gratitude for the contributions the embroiderers have made in bringing this idea to fruition.

Panels so far

The panels we have so far are as follows:

Arrest

– this attempts to show that this often happens out of the blue and that the family is equally traumatised

Police Interrogation

– shows an innocent and respectable man being harassed by police who are already treating him as guilty because they have been told to believe the ‘victim’.

Trial

– this shows a ‘Guilty’ verdict and explains how proof is not required

Prison

The prisoner is staring through his small window at the sky, possibly wondering how he came to be there.
Despite being innocent, he is given less respect than a murderer would be.

YOU COULD BE NEXT!

No-one thinks it could happen to them – until it does. It can happen to anyone. The faceless accuser could be anyone, male or female

Darkness and Light

The artist/embroider did this themselves. It seeks to encapsulate the whole experience. (See text below)

Knowing how much long-term appalling suffering and devastation is caused to the lives of people and their families who experience false accusation and imprisonment, I was keen to take part in this important and ambitious project.

A design idea came almost immediately into my head, and the problem was how to convert it into a visible image to follow.
1.  The dividing line between the awful left-hand side and the hopeful right hand side.
Rather than a simple line, it is a kintsugi line: the Japanese idea of ‘mending with gold’, which brings a feeling of things/people/hearts potentially becoming ‘more’ in some way – not despite having been broken, but because of having been broken!  This was incorporated into the design with hemp string and some shiny strands for the ‘gold’.

 2.       When choosing a word to add to the right hand side, the word “Believed” felt like the perfect word as it is possibly the most powerful word for people who have been through this experience.

 3.       The final idea was to have one of the 3 birds flying out through the bars of the window towards the sunshine of the ‘other side’– possibly leaving a feather to float down to the prisoner to symbolise that a part of an imprisoned person is still ‘free’ to imagine and believe in a better future.

I feel I have been deepened by my participation in this project. It has involved me in many hours of quiet activity, occupying my mind and heart as much as my fingers!
 I pray for healing at the deepest level for all falsely accused and wrongfully imprisoned people and their loved ones, and for all involved in any way with our very broken Criminal ‘Justice’ System.

Further panels

There are more panels to come, including one about the CCRC, one which specifically deals with women as victims of false allegations, both directly and as family, one about rejection by society and others.

If anyone would still like to participate in one of these, please get in touch via the form on the Tapestry page.