Allen was a policy officer at the
Greater London Council from 1977 to 1979. She then became a scientific officer at the Social Science Research Council (1979–80) and a policy officer at
Haringey London Borough Council (1980–81). From 1981 to 1987, Allen was senior policy officer in Social Services for the Association of County Councils. Whilst on the council, she was chair of the Women's Committee. In March 1990, whilst still a councillor, she attempted to become the Labour
PPC for the
marginal seat of
Hampstead and Highgate, which included Kilburn. However, she lost out to the actress
Glenda Jackson on the third ballot. Allen remained a councillor until the
May 1990 local elections. event held in the
Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London on 10 December 2018. She became deputy chief executive of the
Refugee Council in 1987, a role she held until 1999. In 1998/99 she was seconded to the
Home Office, where she worked on the
1999 Immigration and Asylum Act. Having appeared on
BBC Question Time, in October 2005 she wrote a two-page article in
The Observer newspaper, which launched an international campaign on
Internet censorship and repression. In March 2021, Allen announced she would be retiring from Amnesty International in September of the same year, after 21 years. ==Personal life==