Celebration and delight as petition to pardon the Pendle Witches reaches milestone of 10K signatures

The campaign, led by Barrowford film-maker Emma Swinton and three other activists, was created to help pardon the innocent people convicted of, and executed for, witchcraft in the 17th Century, including those from Pendle. The Government must now provide a written response following the 10K milestone.

More than 1,000 signatures came flooding in per day over the past three days to push the petition, which will close on Saturday, over the final hurdle.

Emma, who is the director of short film The Witch’s Daughter featuring Bank of Dave star Jo Hartley and Game of Thrones actor Burn Gorman, said: “We’re over-the-moon. Everyone has pulled together to get the signatures we needed. It’s been amazing. Everyone has been helping and sharing, we’ve had a huge windfall over the past few days and the momentum isn’t dropping.”

She added: "The Government has to respond now. We have the backing of the people, which really strengthens our case going forward. I want to say thank you so much to everyone who has shown up for the people who were killed, and for the justice that needs to happen. Please keep sharing and signing the petition. All the help has been phenomenal and it really makes a difference. I would just encourage as many people as possible to sign the petition so that we can make a stand with our voices.”

To sign the petition, head to https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/640686?fbclid=PAAaZhaZMsuwGbWtKaPCPcTnnYNY9sWg_eQb5jy5GEIXwp15pzT1stFpygytM and for more information about the campaign, search for Justice For Witches on Facebook and Instagram.