The Listening room

Macmillan's headquarters is at Camelford house on Albert embankment in Vauxhall, London. At Camelford house, on floor 9, there is a small room. It's called the 'Listening room'.

The Listening room measures around 9 x 12 feet (2.7 x 3.6 metres). It is windowless and dark. It had a couple of PCs and chairs. It may have been used as a store cupboard before.

Measurements given are approximate. My request for exact measurements of this room, sent to Selina Corkery, editorial manager and Sam Taradash's line manager in September 2019, went unanswered. I asked Colin Restall, health & safety adviser and was told that my request had been forwarded to "appropriate" heads of departments. After 3 months of silence, I asked Lynda Thomas, the then chief executive, if there was any progress with my request. I reminded all three again in September 2020. So far, I have heard nothing.

Use of the listening room is unmonitored and unlike the other 15 meeting rooms, it is not bookable.

Sam Taradash suggested that we have a chat in this room. When we entered the room, Sam sat facing me less than half a metre in distance. Sam is 1.95  metres (6 feet 5 inches) tall. Due to the narrowness of this room, Sam sat with his legs blocking the doorway. Our chats happened several times. They turned nasty with Sam displaying anger, threatening behaviour and adding insults. There were no witnesses. All of them occurred after 17:00, when it was possible to book other meeting rooms, which were not busy, unlike during the day. Even though Sam usually over dramatised things, this behaviour was worrying. After the second chat, I started making audio recordings of our conversations to keep as a record. Read more at: "Serious investigation needed into inequality at Macmillan."

Following my departure from Macmillan, I posted on X and challenged Sam on his behaviour. He denied any personal motive, then blocked my account.

Colin Restall is Macmillan's health & safety adviser. Unlike other managers I met, he is friendly, approachable and a good communicator. His course on fire safety was the best I've attended; well-delivered, interesting, informative and useful. Under normal circumstances, I'm sure he would have had no problem giving me the measurements of this Listening Room, used as a venue for bullying by Sam. But I guess as with others in Macmillan, Colin has been asked by his managers not to disclose this information.