Doug Alker

Doug Alker (1940 - 2025) was the former chair of the British Deaf Association and the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. His self-published 2000 book, Really Not Interested in the Deaf?, is a criticism of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) and the story of his departure from the group.

After leaving RNID Alker set up the radical political pressure group Federation of Deaf People (FDP) in 1998. As the chair, he and the FDP are primarily responsible for pressuring the UK government into officially recognizing British Sign Language. The FDP organised a 4000-strong march to Trafalgar Square in 1999 demanding the recognition of BSL.

He previously worked as a researcher for the BBC television programme See Hear.

Publications