Colin Firth and Emma Thompson, Refugee talk for 5x15

This December, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson will speak in an evening of conversations on the topic of refugees and seeking asylum.

The Bridget Jones stars will talk with refugees who have come to the UK in search of safety, alongside BAFTA nominated Lyse Doucet and other journalists covering refugee issues.

The event, in aid of the Helen Bamber Foundation – which helps refugees to build their lives – promises to explore the reasons why refugees come to the UK to seek asylum, and how their journeys and treatment have affected them.

Colin Firth aka Mr Darcy has long campaigned about refugee rights as a supporter of the Refugee Council, including a campaign to stop the deportation of 42 Congolese asylum seekers facing the threat of murder on their return to the Congo. Four of the asylum seekers were given a last-minute reprieve from deportation.

Emma Thompson, who has been on the front line of the Helen Bamber Foundation since it's inception in 2005, and is also a patron of the Refugee Council, and has a therapy room in her office for traumatised refugees.

Other speakers include Fergal Keane, author and winner of the Amnesty International Press Awards 1993, and Today programme presenter James Naughtie.

5x15 is an events company which allows 5 prominent speakers 15 minutes to speak on a particular issue or topic. This illuminating evening will include music by the Helen Bamber Foundation's Refugee Choir, Woven Gold.