David Lammy

David Lammy

David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician and lawyer who has served as Foreign Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenham at a by-election in 2000. Lammy held junior ministerial positions under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown between 2002 and 2010.

Quotes

• My own career in law and politics owes so much to the U.S., which gave me the honor of becoming the first black Briton to study at Harvard Law School. The land of the free has overwhelmingly been a force for progress around the world. When Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of his dreams for emancipation in the 1950s and 1960s, he empowered black people far beyond America’s 50 states.
• The president's threats to NATO and the U.N. are no more logical than arson. His trade wars with the E.U. and China could trigger the next great economic crisis of our times. Trump is not only a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath. He is also a profound threat to the international order that has been the foundation of Western progress for so long.
  • "I'm a British Lawmaker. Here's Why I'm Protesting Trump’s Visit to the U.K.", Time (10 July 2018)

• The world does not need any more white saviours.
  As I’ve said before, this just perpetuates tired and unhelpful stereotypes. Let’s instead promote voices from across the continent of Africa and have serious debate.
  • Tweets, as cited in "'White saviour' row: David Lammy denies snubbing Comic Relief", The Guardian (28 February 2019)

• You're going to struggle to find any politician in the Western world who hasn't had things to say in response to Donald Trump.
  • From a speech at the Hudson Institute, Washington DC (8 May 2024), as cited in "Donald Trump often misunderstood on Nato, says Labour's David Lammy", BBC News (9 May 2024)