“When I was a young child and before he had left us for the U.S., my father would give me Mark Twain novels. In the characters, the weather and the context, my father must have seen many parallels to his own youth in the Caribbean in the 1930s and 40s.”

British politician, born 1972

David Lammy is a British politician and Labour Party member, born in 1972. He has been the MP for Tottenham since 2000 and has held senior posts in government, including Foreign Secretary, Deputy Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Justice, and Lord Chancellor. Before those roles, he served in junior ministerial positions under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from 2002 to 2010. His public work has centered on national government and foreign affairs, alongside his long parliamentary career representing Tottenham.