Former Labour MP Ruth Smeeth starts top job at Index Against Censorship

Former Labour MP Ruth Smeeth has taken on the top job at Index Against Censorship this week.

Writing her first blogpost as chief executive on Monday, Smeeth warned the nonprofit’s role had “never been more important”.

“Today, I’m joining the team at Index on Censorship as its new CEO. Index has spent the last half century providing a voice for the voiceless, giving those who live under repressive regimes a platform to tell the world of their experiences and enabling artists to share their work with the world when they can’t share it with their neighbours,” she wrote.

“If we have learnt anything at all from the turmoil that 2020 has given the world, it’s that free speech is vital; free expression is central to who we are and; that journalistic freedom is integral to the type of global society we aspire to live in,” she added.

Smeeth succeeds Jodie Ginsberg, who stepped down as chief executive after more than five years.