David Lammy: I’ve had imposter syndrome my whole life- until now

From a working-class childhood in Tottenham to the Cabinet table,
David Lammy’s path to becoming Foreign Secretary was anything but
straightforward. Raised by a single mother after his father
disappeared when he was twelve, David’s early life was shaped by
absence, ambition and a fierce sense of justice.


In this deeply personal conversation with James O’Brien, David
opens up about the chaos of his childhood, the teachers and
parish priests who changed his life, and the duality of growing
up between two worlds- North London and a Peterborough choir
school. He reflects on the trauma of police harassment, the fear
of prison that haunted his youth, and the rage and hope that
drove him to become a barrister and, eventually, an MP.


They discuss what it means to represent a place like Tottenham,
the emotional toll of public service, and the long shadow of
imposter syndrome- even as a Cabinet minister. With disarming
honesty, David revisits his father's alcoholism, the moment he
chose not to see him before he died, and how he finally shook off
the feeling he didn’t belong- only when he became Foreign
Secretary.


From LA Law dreams to Harvard halls, David charts the improbable
course that brought him to Number 10. And he reveals why, despite
the calls for him to run for PM, he’s convinced he’s exactly
where he’s meant to be.


Now at the heart of British foreign policy during a time of
global instability- from Ukraine, to Sudan and the continuing
crisis in Gaza- David also shares the limits and frustrations of
diplomacy, the responsibility of not being complicit, and the
moral weight of trying to end a war that feels impossible to
stop.