Lord Noon covers therapist’s pay at Marie Curie Hospice - peer Akbar Shirazi donates £150,000 to cover salary

Published: 24 March 2011
by TOM FOOT

THE Marie Curie Hospice saw the bright side of Lord Noon on Tuesday when he dug into his own pockets to pay the wages of one of its occupational therapists.

Lord Noon, the recently ennobled peer for St John’s Wood, donated £150,000 to cover the salary of Charris Taylor’s for three years. 

Ms Taylor helps people  dying from cancer at the hospice in Lyndhurst Road. Labour peer Lord Noon, who lives in Avenue Road, Primrose Hill, told the New Journal: “This is a remarkable institution. It is clearly making a great service to humanity. 

“The best religion is humanity.”

Lord Noon made his fortune making Indian food and has recently set up a hospital of his own in Jaipur, India. He said the Noon Hospital was grounded on similar principles as the NHS – the poor are treated for free.

Marie Curie Hospice receives some funding from the NHS but mainly relies heavily on charitable donations. Ms Taylor said: “We are very grateful.”