Today, I decided to charge up Hugh’s iPad for the first time in five years. Five years since I put it in a drawer, unable to bring myself to look through it. And then I found this photo. One I’d never seen before. Hugh must have taken them off himself by accident. For anyone who has lost someone they love, you’ll understand just how precious this is. Finding a photograph you’ve never seen before is better than any present you could ever receive. Because when you lose someone, you know there will be no more new photographs. No more new moments to capture. Everything you have is everything you’ll ever have. And then, out of nowhere, you find something new. A new photograph of someone you’ll never get to see again. A new memory to treasure. A little piece of them you didn’t know you still had. A new bit of love, five years later ❤️

Two years ago, we were fighting to get someone in Government to listen. Today, we sat down with the Secretary of State for the @DHSCgovuk, @YvetteCooperMP . We discussed Hugh’s Law, Hugh’s Report, the work of It’s Never You, and something that has been overlooked for far too long: what actually happens to parents when their child is diagnosed with a serious illness. The financial pressures. The impact on employment. The mental health consequences. The strain on entire families. These aren’t separate from a child’s care. They are part of it. It was encouraging to hear how the Department of Health and Social Care is prioritising children’s health and parental wellbeing, and to discuss how our work , Hugh’s report and Hugh’s law would help shape meaningful improvements. But meetings alone don’t change lives. What happens next is what matters. When we lost Hugh, we made a promise that we would do everything we could to improve the support available to other families. Today was another important step towards fulfilling that promise. I’m incredibly proud of how far we’ve come, grateful to everyone who has helped us get here, and determined to keep going. For Hugh. For every parent. ❤️ #HughsLaw #ItsNeverYou #ChildrensHealth

Today, I’ve written an article for @LabourList about why I believe Hugh’s Law should be the next step forward for employment rights in Britain. We rightly protect parents when a child is born through maternity, paternity and neonatal care leave. But what happens when that same child is five, eight or twelve and is suddenly diagnosed with cancer or another serious illness? For too many families, there is no equivalent statutory paid leave. 42 businesses, covering more than 32,000 employees, have already voluntarily adopted the principles of Hugh’s Law. The @ChildrensComm has backed it, and the Government has now consulted on the issue. The momentum is there. The evidence is there. Now we need legislation. Because whether a parent can afford to stay beside their seriously ill child should never depend on who employs them. Hugh’s Law was born from the worst experience of our lives. It now has the potential to change the lives of thousands of families across Britain. No parent should ever have to choose between being with their seriously ill child and paying the bills. Thank you to LabourList for giving me the opportunity to make the case. Read the full article here: labourlist.org/2026/10/hughs… #HughsLaw #EmploymentRights #ItsNeverYou #WorkingFamilies

I buried my six-year-old son. A message from a stranger is not going to stop me fighting for other families. But this is an example of the trolling I receive, weekly! Blame for Hugh’s cancer. Accusations of making money from his death. Antisemitic abuse. I’m not Jewish, nor am I religious. But what’s that got to do with anything? Cancer and illness do not discriminate. They do not check your religion, your background or how you vote before turning your life upside down. I share Hugh’s story because what happened to him, and what happens to families like ours, deserves to be heard. Frances and I built It’s Never You because we know what it means to sit beside your seriously ill child while everything outside that hospital room starts falling apart. We campaign for Hugh’s Law because parents should be able to stay with their child without losing their job or their income. You can question our proposals. Challenge our arguments. Disagree with me publicly. I’m happy to have that conversation. But blaming a parent for their child’s cancer is cruelty. There is no argument to answer there. I made Hugh a promise that the world would know who he was. I intend to keep it. I’ll keep saying his name, telling our story and pushing for change. Anyone hoping to silence me with messages like this is wasting their time.

6 words changed my life forever. I wrote what that meant to me in an article for the @huffpostuk . Link to read 👉 huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/n…

Calling the Dragons who will back #HughsLaw? Who will invest in their staff when their world is upside down 🙏 When a child becomes seriously ill, parents can lose their income and even their job. Over 40 businesses and 10,000 parents support change. We need a Dragon to help take this campaign nationwide. @StevenBartlett @dragonjones @toukersuleyman @SaraDaviesCC @GNev2 @DeborahMeaden please can we talk? Hughslaw.uk

I ran my first @LondonMarathon five years ago today, for Hugh. The next day I laid him to rest with the medal round his neck 💔 I had not trained. I had been next to him in hospital for three weeks, and someone told me not to start, that I would have a heart attack. I went anyway. I had promised him that medal. I cried the whole way, with his bravery beads round my neck, one of his socks and his little Batman Lego figure in my pocket, and a photo of him on my front, taken five weeks before. I did not feel strong. I was heartbroken and just trying to keep my word. The miles were nothing next to what he had been through. That little boy is still why I push so hard, and why we built It’s Never You, for parents walking the same road. If you can, please support them.

An eight -year-old boy who lost his big brother asked for a response. A month later, he’s still waiting. One month ago today, Raife took a letter to @10DowningStreet asking for support for families like ours. Prime Minister @andyburnham , you’ve spoken about people feeling that the Government hasn’t got their backs. When your child is seriously ill, that feeling becomes painfully real. You’re sitting beside a hospital bed, frightened about whether your child will survive. Then you’re worrying about your job, your mortgage and how you’ll afford another week away from home. Being told your child has cancer doesn’t stop the bills. It doesn’t automatically protect your job or put support around your family. We know. We’ve lived it. That is why we’re fighting for Hugh’s Law. Parents need time to care for their children without their finances falling apart. Raife lost his big brother. He took that letter to your door because he wants other families to have more support than ours did. Come on, Prime Minister. Give him a response. Show these families you’ve got their backs.

Who will take on Hugh’s Law next? 🙏 Many of you reading this are chief executives, HR directors and business owners. Please do not scroll past without considering what this could mean for the people who work for you. When a child becomes seriously ill, their parents need to be beside them. But the bills keep coming, and the fear of losing an income or a job adds pressure to an already unimaginable situation. You have the power to help. By adopting the principles of Hugh’s Law, your organisation can offer paid, protected leave from day one, giving parents time to care for their child with greater financial security. I know what it feels like to sit beside your child in hospital, frightened of what comes next. I cannot change what happened to Hugh. But in his name, I will keep asking for better support for other families. Please take this into your next leadership meeting. Ask what would happen if someone in your team received that devastating news tomorrow. What support could they count on? Your decision today could make an enormous difference to a family tomorrow. Could your workplace be next? Message me and let us have that conversation. Hughslaw.uk #HughsLaw #ItsNeverYou #FamiliesDeserveBetter

At 3pm on this day five years ago, you took your oxygen mask off and asked if you could go home and play in the lounge. I told you we had to wait for the medicines to work. You then asked if you could sit on the windowsill, have a glass of water and look outside. That was the last conversation we ever had. At 11.20pm, we said goodbye, and you were finally free. Free from the medicines, the needles and the pain. Five years later, you’ve become a hero to so many people. But to me, you’re more than that. You had everything I still try to live by: bravery, courage, humility and kindness. We could all learn something from the way you lived your six years. If you’ve followed our journey over the last five years, thank you. Today, if you can, share Hugh’s face, his name and his story, so a little boy who showed such bravery, courage, humility and kindness is remembered, or you can donate to the charity in his name 👉 justgiving.com/charity/itsne… Love you, son. Always. x

At just 8 years old, Raife walked up to the most famous front door in Britain with a letter for the Prime Minister @andyburnham . ❤️ His big brother Hugh died from cancer aged just six, and Raife wants the Government to do more for the brothers and sisters of seriously ill children, kids who can too easily become the forgotten ones. In his letter, he asked the Prime Minister to meet his mum and dad, so they could explain what needs to change for families like theirs. It’s been nearly two weeks. Raife is still waiting for a reply. He only asked for one thing: for the Prime Minister to meet his mum and dad and listen to what needs to change for siblings and families. We hope he does. 🧡 If you think Raife deserves a reply, please help us get his message seen. Over to you, Prime Minister @andyburnham 🧡 Share, like and comment below 👇 lets make sure Raife gets a response 🙏 @10DowningStreet

Over the last few years, I’ve found myself writing things down. Not really knowing what I’d ever do with them. Just thoughts, feelings and things I’d learnt along the way that I thought I might use one day. Things about grief. Fatherhood. Resilience. Fear. Etc. And what happens to you when your child dies. I went back through some of them recently and pulled together 10 things I’ve learnt about being a dad after losing my son. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲. I still parent Hugh. I just have to do it differently. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱. The mess. The noise. The arguments. I’d give anything to have them all back. 𝗕𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀. Sometimes strength is getting out of bed. Sometimes it’s crying. Sometimes it’s admitting you’re not OK. 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. I can laugh with my children and desperately miss Hugh at exactly the same time. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲. Once the impossible has happened to you, it’s no longer impossible. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗼. While your own world has collapsed, you’re still their dad. Sometimes that’s what keeps you standing. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 “𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻”. I don’t want to move on from Hugh. I’ve learnt to move forward with him. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘆. Take the photo. Go on the trip. Leave work early. Say I love you. Another day isn’t guaranteed. 𝗔 𝗱𝗮𝗱’𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. People ask if you’re being strong for everyone else. Far fewer ask who’s being strong for you. 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼. I can’t hold Hugh’s hand anymore. But I can carry his name, fight for other families and try to make sure his life changes something. I’m still learning. But perhaps the biggest lesson of all is that losing Hugh didn’t stop me being his dad. It just changed what being his dad looks like.