Mina Smallman

Mina Smallman is a retired Anglican priest and former high school teacher. She studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. Before being ordained in 2006 at St Paul’s Cathedral, she was a former Assistant Principal of John Kelly Girls’ Technology College. She served as the Archdeacon of Southend in the Diocese of Chelmsford from 2013-2016 and, in recognition of her work, she was awarded the title of Emeritus the Venerable.

After the murder of two of her daughters, Mina, together with her husband Chris, criticised the Metropolitan Police Service for being initially dismissive and mishandling the missing persons investigation, questioning whether the murder of women of colour is treated differently by police and society at large. In December 2021, two Metropolitan Police Officers who took photographs of the murdered sisters and shared the images via WhatsApp – conduct described by Ms Smallman as “a betrayal of catastrophic proportions” – were convicted and jailed for 33 months.

Mina is an Honorary Fellow of Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge, and she was included in the BBC’s 100 Women List for 2021, for her trailblazing work as Archdeacon, as well as her campaign work, which is aimed at police reform and making UK streets safer. She delivered the Longford Lecture in November 2022, and is working with the Metropolitan Police to share her experiences in a series of leadership talks.