Ken Irwin

A Matter of Policy Ken Irwin

One day, in May, 1957, when he was working as a reporter on the Liverpool Evening Express, a young negro called Harold McDonald, out of work, desperate and hungry, walked into his office and pleaded with him to write his story because he was convinced he was the victim of colour prejudice. When the story appeared in the paper, Ken was horrified by the reaction not only of the general public but by some of his own colleagues. He received many letters of help and encouragement but also a lot of abuse and even suffered threatening phone calls from people branding him a "nigger lover." In the end, the story had a sad and tragic twist. Based on his experiences, he later wrote his first play for radio, and the BBC produced it as an Afternoon Theatre drama, in May 1963, with the distinguished actor Earl Cameron playing the black immigrant. This is the play in its entirety. Although this story was written in 1957, have our moral attitudes changed? Has public opinion softened on the question of immigration? Is there still a Colour Bar in Britain? Bermuda-born Earl Cameron settled in England, was awarded the CBE by the Queen and in 2016 was inducted into the UK's first black Film & TV Hall of Fame and was cited as "one of the first African Caribbean screen actors to break the colour bar in Britain" and become a star.