David Lammy | |||||||||||||||||||
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.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 September 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Charles III | ||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Angela Rayner | ||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Justice Lord Chancellor | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 September 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Shabana Mahmood | ||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign Secretary | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 5 July 2024 – 5 September 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Yvette Cooper | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament forTottenham | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 22 June 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Bernie Grant | ||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 15,434 (38.4%) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the London Assembly as the10th Additional Member | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 4 May 2000 – 4 July 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jennette Arnold | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | David Lindon Lammy (1972-07-19)19 July 1972 (age 53) Archway, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||
David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is a British politician who has served asDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,Secretary of State for Justice andLord Chancellor since September 2025. He previously served asForeign Secretary from July 2024 to September 2025. A member of theLabour Party, he has beenMember of Parliament (MP) forTottenham since2000. Lammy previously held various junior ministerial positions underTony Blair andGordon Brown between 2002 and 2010.
Born in London, Lammy attendedThe King's School, Peterborough. He studied law at theSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),University of London and was called to the bar in 1994. He later studied for aMaster of Laws degree atHarvard University, becoming the first black Briton to study atHarvard Law School. In 2000, Lammy briefly served in theLondon Assembly before being elected to Parliament in the 2000 Tottenham by-election. Tony Blair appointed himParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health in 2002 andParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs in 2003. He was promoted to Minister of State for Culture in 2005. In 2007, Gordon Brown appointed himParliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills before Lammy served asMinister of State for Higher Education from 2008 to 2010.
Following Labour's defeat in the2010 general election, Lammy endorsedDavid Miliband in the2010 Labour leadership election and subsequently declined to serve inEd Miliband's Shadow Cabinet. He then spent the next decade on the backbenches, and was a candidate in the2015 London Labour Party mayoral selection but ultimately finished fourth. Lammy endorsedKeir Starmer in the2020 Labour leadership election and was appointedShadow Secretary of State for Justice andShadow Lord Chancellor inStarmer's Shadow Cabinet. In theNovember 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, he was promoted toShadow Foreign Secretary.
Following Labour's victory in the2024 general election, Lammy returned to government after being appointed Foreign Secretary by Starmer inhis ministry. As Foreign Secretary, Lammy helped negotiate the transfer of theChagos Islands toMauritius and several trade deals following the introduction ofDonald Trump's tariffs. In the2025 cabinet reshuffle, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor. He is the first person of colour to hold the position.
David Lindon Lammy[2] was born on 19 July 1972 inWhittington Hospital inArchway, north London, toGuyanese parents David and Rosalind Lammy.[3][4][5] He and his four siblings were raised solely by his mother after his father left the family when Lammy was 12 years old. Lammy has spoken about the importance of fathers and the need to support them in seeking to be active in the lives of their children.[6] He chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Fatherhood, and has written on the issue.[7][8][9]
Lammy grew up inTottenham, and went to Downhills Primary School.[10] At the age of 10, he was awarded anInner London Education Authority choral scholarship to sing atPeterborough Cathedral and receive a private school education atThe King's School, Peterborough.[11]
Lammy studied at theSchool of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS),University of London, graduating with a2:1 inlaw.[12] He wascalled to the bar of England and Wales in 1994 atLincoln's Inn. He went on to study atHarvard University, where he became the first black Briton to attendHarvard Law School; he studied for aMaster of Laws degree and graduated in 1997.[12][13]
After Harvard, Lammy was employed as an attorney at Howard Rice (now part ofArnold & Porter) inCalifornia from 1997 to 1998, and with D. J. Freeman (now part ofTroutman Pepper Locke) from 1998 to 2000.[5] He is a visiting professor of practice at SOAS.[14][15]
In May 2000, Lammy was elected forLabour on theLondon-wide list to theLondon Assembly.[16] Later in the same month, he was selected as the Labour candidate for the parliamentary constituency ofTottenham, following the recent death of the veteranmember of parliament (MP),Bernie Grant.[17] Lammy was elected to the seat in aby-election held on 22 June 2000 with 53.5% of the vote and a majority of 5,646.[18] Aged 27, he was the youngest MP in the house at the time.[19]
Lammy was re-elected as MP for Tottenham at the2001 general election with an increased vote share of 67.5% and an increased majority of 16,916.[20]
In 2002, he was appointed by Prime MinisterTony Blair asParliamentary under-secretary of state in theDepartment of health.[21] In 2003, Lammy was appointed by Blair as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in theDepartment for Constitutional Affairs[22] and while a member of the Government, voted in favour of authorisation for Britain to invade Iraq in 2003.[23]
At the2005 general election, Lammy was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 57.9% and a decreased majority of 13,034.[24] After the election, Blair appointed Lammy as Minister for Culture at theDepartment of Culture, Media and Sport.[22]
In June 2007, new prime ministerGordon Brown demoted Lammy to the rank of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in theDepartment for Innovation, Universities and Skills. In October 2008, he was promoted by Brown to Minister of State and appointed to thePrivy Council. In June 2009, Brown appointed Lammy asMinister for Higher Education in the newDepartment for Business, Innovation and Skills, leading the Commons ministerial team asPeter Mandelson was Secretary of State.[22]
At the2010 general election, Lammy was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 59.3% and an increased majority of 16,931.[25] After Labour lost the election, Lammy returned to the backbenches, and aLabour Party leadership contest was announced. During the contest Lammy nominatedDiane Abbott, saying that he felt it was important to have a diverse field of candidates, but subsequently declared his support forDavid Miliband. Following the election ofEd Miliband, Lammy pledged his full support but turned down a post in theShadow cabinet, highlighting the need to speak on a wide range of issues that would arise in his constituency due to "large cuts in the public services".[26]
In 2012, Lammy pledged his support toKen Livingstone's bid to become the Labour London mayoral candidate in the2012 London mayoral election, declaring him "London's Mayor in waiting".[27] Lammy became Livingstone's selection campaign chair. In 2014, Lammy announced that he was considering entering the race to becomeMayor of London in the 2016 election.[28]
Lammy was again re-elected at the2015 general election with an increased vote share of 67.3% and an increased majority of 23,564.[29][30] Following the party's defeat, Lammy was one of 36 Labour MPs to nominateJeremy Corbyn, whom he is good friends with, as a candidate in theLabour leadership election of 2015.[31][32]
On 4 September 2014, Lammy announced his intention to seek the Labour nomination for the2016 mayoral election.[33] In theLondon Labour Party's selection process, he secured 9.4% of first preference votes and was fourth overall, behindSadiq Khan,Tessa Jowell andDiane Abbott.[34]
In March 2016, he was fined £5,000 for instigating 35,629 automatic phone calls urging people to back his mayoral campaign without gaining permission to contact the party members concerned. Lammy apologised "unreservedly" for breach of thePrivacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.[35] It was the first time a politician had been fined for authorisingnuisance calls.[36]
At the snap2017 general election, Lammy was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 81.6% and an increased majority of 34,584.[37][38] At the2019 general election, Lammy was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 76% and a decreased majority of 30,175.[39][40]
Lammy endorsedKeir Starmer andAngela Rayner in the2020 Labour leadership anddeputy leadership elections.[41][42] After Starmer was elected Labour leader in April 2020, Lammy was appointed to theShadow Cabinet asShadow Secretary of State for Justice.[43] In theNovember 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, Lammy was promoted toShadow Foreign Secretary.[44]
On 7 February 2022, while Lammy and Starmer were leaving Parliament, they were ambushed by a group of people who shouted abuse at Starmer including the words "traitor" and "Jimmy Savile". This followedBoris Johnson falsely blaming Starmer for the non-prosecution of Savile when Starmer was Director of Public Prosecutions in the Crown Prosecution Service. Starmer was DPP in the years immediately prior to Savile's death but there is no evidence he was involved in the decision to not have him prosecuted.[45] Two people, a man and a woman, were arrested after atraffic cone was thrown at police officers. Johnson tweeted that it was "absolutely disgraceful" and thanked the police for acting swiftly.[46] Shayan Sardarizadeh forBBC Monitoring said that the protest was an attempt to recreate theOttawa "freedom convoy" protests in the UK, and noted that the activists' references toMagna Carta indicated that the protesters were members of thesovereign citizen movement.[46]Julian Smith, the formerchief whip, andSimon Hoare were among Conservatives who called for Johnson to apologise. MPKim Leadbeater and Brendan Cox, the respective sister and husband of murdered MPJo Cox, warned against politicians lending credence to far-right conspiracy theories.[47][48] The following day, a Downing Street source said that Johnson still would not apologise for the slur against Starmer.[49] Following the incident when activists forced police to protect Lammy and Starmer extremists issued multiple death threats against Starmer and other Labour MPs. TheCenter for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) sent material to theMetropolitan Police. Imran Ahmed of the CCDH stated, "Every time a violent extremist makes a threat of violence and gets away with it, the norms of those groups worsen, and others are driven to newer depths of behaviour."[50]
In August 2022, an inquiry found that he had inadvertently breached the MPs' code of conduct. He apologised in a letter toParliamentary Standards CommissionerKathryn Stone.[51]
In January 2023, Lammy visitedNorthern Ireland with Shadow SecretaryPeter Kyle and Shadow Cabinet Office MinisterJenny Chapman, visitingFoyle Port to make a statement on theNorthern Ireland Protocol.[52]
On 19 November 2023, Lammy visitedIsrael and had a meeting with Israeli presidentIsaac Herzog and Foreign MinisterEli Cohen.[53] That month, Lammy said an Israeli strike on a refugee camp could be "legally justified".[54] In January 2024, as he was giving a speech, he was interrupted bypro-Palestinian protesters.[55]
At the2024 general election, Lammy was again re-elected with a decreased vote share of 57.5% and a decreased majority of 15,434.[56]
Lammy was appointedforeign secretary by Starmer inhis ministry on 5 July 2024.[57][58] He took his first international trip as foreign secretary[59][60] meeting his counterparts in Poland (Radosław Sikorski),[61] Germany (Annalena Baerbock)[62] and Sweden (Tobias Billström).[63] These meetings involved matters including theRussian invasion of Ukraine and theGaza war.[64] Lammy stated that the UK government wanted to "reset" its relations with theEuropean Union,[60][64] with their plans including a new joint security pact coveringdefence,energy policies, theclimate crisis,pandemic prevention andillegal immigration.[60]
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On 13 July 2024 Lammy condemned theattempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.[65] Lammy had previously been critical ofDonald Trump, calling him "a tyrant" and "a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath" in 2018. Following Trump's victory in the2024 United States presidential election, Lammy dismissed past criticism of Trump as "old news".[66]
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On 14 July 2024, Lammy visitedIsrael and met with the families ofIsraeli hostages held in theGaza Strip.[67] He called for a ceasefire in Gaza that would be conditional on the release of all hostages.[68] After receiving assurances of its neutrality, Lammy announced the resumption of British funding to theUNRWA, stating that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "desperate" and "no other agency" could deliver aid on the scale needed.[69]
Lammy promised to review the UK's relationship withChina.[70] In August 2024, he refused to label China'spersecution of theUyghur ethnic minority as "genocide".[71]
On 14 August 2024, he metSaudi Arabia's Foreign Minister PrinceFaisal bin Farhan Al Saud in London to discuss the growingUK–Saudi partnership. Lammy wrote on X: "We'll work together on shared defence, economic & security interests, including pressing for de-escalation in the region and a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza."[72]
Lammy visited the Norwegian Joint Headquarters inBodø together with his Norwegian counterpart,Espen Barth Eide, to discuss deepening defence and security ties with the country and tackling threats from Russia.[73]
On 19 September 2024, Lammy sparked a diplomatic row withArmenia because of a reference to theNagorno-Karabakh conflict in his blog post.[74] He hailedAzerbaijan for being able "to liberate territory it lost in the early 1990s".[75] His remarks were described as "callous", as he referred to what has been described asethnic cleansing of the indigenous Christian population of the region as "liberation",[74] and "ignorant" because of the parallels he drew between Azerbaijan underIlham Aliyev (adictatorship in allied relations with Russia) and Ukraine, which is fighting against Russia.[76][77]
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Following the UK's decision to relinquish control of theChagos Islands, Lammy asserted that this didn't signal a shift in the government's position on other overseas territories. He furthermore stated that the status of theFalkland Islands andGibraltar were "non-negotiable".[78]
In November 2024, following the issuance by theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) on an arrest warrant againstBenjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza, Lammy clarified that he considered there to be no discretion for him but to implement the warrant. His position contrasted with France's view that Netanyahu benefited from immunity from the ICC.[79]
On 9 March 2025, Lammy condemned themassacres of Syrian minorities committed by pro-government fighters duringclashes in western Syria, saying that theSyrian transitional government "must ensure the protection of all Syrians and set out a clear path to transitional justice."[80]
On 17 March 2025, in response to questions asked of him in the House of Commons, Lammy twice stated that Israel's 16-dayblockade of humanitarian supplies into Gaza was a "breach" of international law. This was the first time that a member of the UK Government had stated that Israel was in breach of international law.[81] However, Starmer's office publicly rejected Lammy's statement that Israel had broken international law by blocking Gaza. Starmer's office stated that it was up to the Foreign Office to decide whether Lammy should apologise for his criticism of Israel.[82] On 18 March 2025, Lammy toldBloomberg it was a "matter for the court" to decide if Israel had breached international law.[83] On 23 June 2025, Lammy refused to say whether UK government viewsUS strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as illegal.[84]
Following theresignation ofAngela Rayner, Lammy becameDeputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,Secretary of State for Justice andLord Chancellor in the2025 cabinet reshuffle on 5 September 2025.[85]
Lammy has talked about black and minority ethnic people, in particular younger people, with regards to their relation with crime and how they are treated by the criminal justice system.[86]
On 11 August 2011, in an address to Parliament, Lammy attributed part of the cause for England'sriots of a few days earlier to destructive "cultures" that had emerged under the prevailing policies.[87] He also stated that legislation restricting the degree of violence that parents are allowed to use when disciplining their children was partly to blame for current youth culture, that had contributed to the riots.[88]
In September 2017 Lammy stated that the criminal justice system deals with "disproportionate numbers" of young people from black and ethnic minority communities: despite saying that although decisions to charge were "broadly proportionate", he asserted that black and ethnic minority people still face and perceive bias.[89] Lammy said that young black people are nine times more likely to be incarcerated than "comparable" white people, and proposed a number of measures including a system of "deferred prosecution" for young first time offenders to reduce incarcerations.[90] Lammy has claimed that black and ethnic minority people offend "at the same rates" as comparable white people "when taking age and socioeconomic status into account"; however, they were more likely to be stopped and searched, if charged, more likely to be convicted, more likely to be sent to prison and less likely to get support in prison.[91]
In 2018, Lammy blamed the then-Prime MinisterTheresa May, Home SecretaryAmber Rudd, and London MayorSadiq Khan for failing to take responsibility over fatal stabbings in London.[32] He also criticised inequality, high youth unemployment among black males, and local authorities cutting youth services and outreach programmes.[92]
Lammy has commented on Britain'shistory of slavery.[93][94][95] He has also criticised theUniversity of Oxford for admitting relatively few black students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.[96] He believes theWindrush scandal concerns injustice to a generation who are British, have made their homes and worked in Britain and deserve to be treated better.[97]
On 5 February 2013, Lammy gave a speech in the House of Commons on why he would be voting in favour of theMarriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, critically comparing the relegation of British same-sex couples tocivil partnerships to the "separate but equal" legal doctrine that justifiedJim Crow laws in the 20th-century United States.[98]
In January 2016, Lammy was commissioned by then-Prime MinisterDavid Cameron to report on the effects of racial discrimination and disadvantage on the procedures of the police, courts, prisons and the probation service. Lammy published his report in September 2017, concluding that prosecutions against someBAME suspects should be delayed or dropped outright to mitigate racial bias.[99][100]
In the same month, Lammy said one million Indianssacrificed their lives during the Second World War for the "European Project"; the statement was criticised byThe Spectator.[101]
He has spoken out againstantisemitism within the Labour Party, and attended anEnough is Enough rally. At the rally, Lammy stated that antisemitism has "come back because extremism has come back" and is damaging support for Labour amongBritain's Jewish community.[102]
In January 2019, Lammy describedRod Liddle having a column in a weekly newspaper as a "national disgrace" and accused Liddle of having "white middle class privilege" for expressing the view that absent fathers played a role in violent crime involving black youths.[103] Lammy made the same argument as Liddle – that absent fathers are a 'key cause of knife crime' – in 2012.[104]Writing in an article forThe Spectator, Liddle disputed Lammy's claim that he was raised in a family reliant ontax credits, which were not introduced in the United Kingdom until Lammy was aged 31.[105] Lammy recorded aChannel 4 documentary forRemembrance Sunday calledThe Unremembered: Britain's Forgotten War Heroes, which was broadcast on 10 November 2019. In it he reveals howAfricans who died in their own continent serving Britain duringWWI were denied the honour of an individual grave, despite theCommonwealth War Graves Commission's reputation for equality.[106] The documentary was produced by ProfessorDavid Olusoga's production company; Olusoga described the failure to commemorate black and Asian soldiers as one of the "biggest scandals" he had ever come across.[107]
The documentary inspired an investigation by theCommonwealth War Graves Commission.[108] The subsequent report found that "pervasive racism" underpinned the failure to properly commemorate service personnel. The report stated that up to 54,000 casualties of "certain ethnic groups" did not receive the same remembrance treatment as white soldiers who had died and another 350,000 military personnel recruited from eastAfrica andEgypt were not commemorated by name or even at all.[109] In April 2021, Prime MinisterBoris Johnson offered an "unreserved apology" over the findings of the review.[108]Secretary of State for DefenceBen Wallace apologised in the House of Commons, promising to make amends and take action.[110] Lammy, who was critical to bringing the matter to light, called this a "watershed moment".[108]
In October 2022, Lammy called for a full investigation into an alleged security breach bySuella Braverman. Lammy said: "The home secretary is the most serious job you could have in our state. This is a person who makes judgements about terrorism and counter-terrorism, who makes judgements about very, very serious offenders, whether they should be allowed out of prison, and for that reason, it's someone who, I'm afraid, judgement is critically important. I'm afraid this is a lapse of judgement that, quite rightly, she was sacked for. The question is, why was she brought back?"[111]
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Lammy is an advocate of British membership of theEuropean Union. On 23 June 2018, he appeared at thePeople's Vote march in London to mark the second anniversary ofthe referendum to leave the European Union. The People's Vote was a campaign group calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal between the UK and the European Union.[112] On 30 December 2020, he voted for the Brexit deal negotiated byBoris Johnson's Government.
In 2017, Lammy said theRohingya people inMyanmar "are facing genocide".[113] In December 2021, he described thepersecution of Uyghurs in China as "genocide".[113]
In April 2019, Lammy was criticised for saying his comparison of theEuropean Research Group (which consists of Conservative MPs) to Nazis and proponents of the South Africanapartheid was "not strong enough".[114]
In late 2023, following anIDF bombing of theJabalia refugee camp, Lammy commented that the strike was wrong "when it comes to the ethics," but also that "if there is a military objective it can be legally justifiable". The comments were criticised by theMuslim Association of Britain as shameful and morally depraved.[115]
Lammy is a supporter ofIsrael. In September 2024, he described himself as a "liberal, progressiveZionist".[116] He opposes a fullarms embargo on Israel.[117] On 8 October 2023, he signed a letter, alongside over 300 other MPs, condemningHamas' attack the previous day as 'unprovoked'.[118] In October 2024, Lammy stated that describingIsrael's actions in Gaza as a genocide "undermines the seriousness of that term", leading MPChris Law to state the comment revealed Lammy's "blatant contempt for the fundamental rights and the very lives of Palestinians."[113] Lammy went on to condemn Israel's 'siege' of Gaza, describing it as 'abhorrent' and 'extremist' in May 2025.[119] However, he is yet to refer toIsrael's actions as agenocide.[120] He supported the export ofF-35 parts to Israel.[121] As of 3 August 2025, Lammy has received at least £32,640 from the Israel Lobby according toDeclassified UK.[122]
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Lammy has stressed wanting to maintain a strong relationship with theUnited States. On a trip to Washington D.C. in May 2024, Lammy spoke at theHudson Institute where he described himself as a "good Christian" and "small-c conservative" who had common cause with the U.S.Republican Party.[123]
Lammy wrote in a Substack post in September 2024 that "Azerbaijan has been able to liberate territory it lost in the early 1990s" in reference to the2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, which resulted in theexodus of the Armenian population.[124] The Foreign Office clarified that his comment did not mark a change in the UK government's stance on Nagorno-Karabakh, but Armenia asked for further clarification.[125] Lammy description of the event was widely criticised.[126][127] Conservative MPAlicia Kearns said Lammy's comments are “totally inappropriate and throws into question the foreign secretary's judgment”.[125][128] US congressmanBrad Sherman said the remarks were “a stain on UK foreign policy” and accused Lammy of having “endorsed ethnic cleansing”.[125][129] Laurence Broers, a scholar of the Caucasus, called Lammy's remarks "poorly informed" as Azerbaijan, in addition to recovering territory, "enacted a sustained campaign aimed at cleansing the territory of its ethnic Armenian population—and succeeded."[130][131]Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan's ambassador to the UK, said Lammy's remarks are "absolutely true".[125]
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In Lammy's book,Out of the Ashes, Lammy stated in reference to the2011 England riots that, "If parents were allowed to hit their children, the riots wouldn't have happened" and has said the ban on smacking children should be overturned.[132][133]
Lammy described theGrenfell Tower fire as "corporate manslaughter" and called for arrests to be made;[134] his friendKhadija Saye died in the fire.[135][136] He also criticised the authorities for failing to say how many people had died.[137] Reacting to the first official estimate of deaths, he said on 2 July 2017 "We know that 80 people have lost their lives but the view amongst the victims – I spoke to them yesterday – is that many more lost their lives." The official death toll for the fire is 72. He has written about what he believes to be the shortcomings of the housing market.[138]
Lammy supports sharedparental leave, which he maintains would "normalise" fathers being an equal parent with the mother, and would mean they become more involved in the raising of children, arguing that the barriers to "fathers playing a deeper role in family life" are not just legislative, but also cultural. He points outScandinavian countries such asSweden as examples of where governments have successfully made this happen, which he states has also helped increasegender equality.[6][139]
Lammy has called former Conservative Party Prime Minister,Margaret Thatcher a "visionary leader for the UK" and that, "You can take issue with Mrs Thatcher's prescription, but she had a big manifesto for change and set about a course that lasted for over two decades".[140]
He is a member of theFabian Society.[141]
In 2017, writing inThe Guardian, Lammy argued thatComic Relief perpetuated problematic stereotypes ofAfrica, and that they had a responsibility to use its powerful position to move the debate on in a more constructive way by establishing an image of African people as equals.[142] His comments came after a video featuringEd Sheeran meeting and rescuing a child inLiberia was criticised as "poverty porn" and was given the "Rusty Radiator" award for the "most offensive and stereotypical fundraising video of the year".[143][144] In 2018, in response to Lammy's comments and the backlash to Sheeran's video, Comic Relief announced they would take steps towards change by halting their use of celebrities for appeals.[145]
In February 2019, Lammy criticisedStacey Dooley for photographs she posted on social media of her trip toUganda for Comic Relief, and said that "the world does not need any more white saviours", and that she was "perpetuating 'tired and unhelpful stereotypes' about Africa".[146][147] He also stated however, that he does not question her "good motives".[148] The donations received for theRed Nose Day broadcast in March 2019 fell by £8 million and the money raised that year was the lowest since 2007, which some have blamed on Lammy's remarks. Critics of his view included Wikipedia founderJimmy Wales[149] and Conservative Party MPChris Philp.[150] Lammy responded to criticism with a statement in which he referred to the decline in donations being due to contributing factors ofausterity, declining viewing figures, trends in the charity sector and format fatigue and that he hoped his comments "would inspire the charity to refresh its image and think harder about the effects its output has on our perceptions of Africa".[151]
Following this, in October 2020, Comic Relief announced it would stop sending celebrities to Africa for its fundraising films.[152] They stated that they would no longer send celebrities to Africa nor portray Africa with images of starving people or critically ill children,[153] instead, they would be using local filmmakers to provide a more "authentic" perspective and give agency back to African people.[154]
Lammy married the artistNicola Green, daughter ofSir Malcolm Green, in 2005;[5] the couple have two sons and an adopted daughter.[155][156]
Lammy is anAnglican and is part of theliberal Anglo-Catholic tradition in theChurch of England.[157][158] His wife, of Ashkenazi Jewish, Russian Orthodox and Anglican heritage, explored atheism and then other religions before returning to her Anglican faith; the couple married under CofE aegis, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu sending a prayer to be read at the wedding.[159]
He is aTottenham Hotspur F.C. fan, and enjoys film and the theatre.[160]
He holds dual citizenship in the United Kingdom andGuyana.[1][158][161][162] His great-grandmother was Indian, fromCalcutta, who moved toGuyana as a labourer as part of theIndian indenture system.[163][164] At Prime Ministers Question's on the 5th of November 2025, David Lammy stated he had taken a DNA test and was 5% Scottish.
Lammy features as one of the100 Great Black Britons on both the 2003 and 2020 lists.[165][166] He has regularly been included in thePowerlist as one of the most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent, including the most recent editions published in2020 and2021.[167]
In 2009 Lammy took part in the BBC television quiz showCelebrity Mastermind, scoring a low 13 points.
In November 2011, he published a book,Out of the Ashes: Britain After the Riots, about the2011 England riots.[168] In 2020, he published his second book,Tribes, which explored social division and the need for belonging.[169]
Lammy was a stand-in presenter onLBC and hosted a weekly Sunday show, from 10 am to 1 pm, between 2022 and April 2024.[170]
During the 2019–2024 parliament, Lammy received the highest income on top of his MP's salary among Labour Party MPs.[171]
David Lammy's bookOut of the Ashes: Britain After the Riots [...] is about more than the English riots, it's about the future of Labour in the country.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forTottenham 2000–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Baby of the House 2000–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded byas Minister of State for the Arts | Minister of State for Culture 2005–2007 | Succeeded byas Minister of State for Culture and Tourism |
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 2007–2010 | Succeeded byas Minister of State for Universities and Science |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Justice 2020–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Shadow Lord Chancellor 2020–2021 | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Foreign Secretary 2021–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Foreign Secretary 2024–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Justice 2025–present | Incumbent |
| Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 2025–present | ||
| Preceded by | Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 2025–present | Incumbent |
| Order of precedence in England and Wales | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain | Succeeded byasArchbishop of York |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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