Former foreign secretary William Hague MP was guest of honour at a celebration marking the launch of this year’s “power list” for Brits of Bangladeshi heritage.
The one-time Tory party leader was guest of honour at the British Bangladeshi Power and Inspiration (BBPI) 2015 dinner in One Canada Square, Canary Wharf on Tuesday.
He was joined by MPs Dame Tessa Jowell and Alan Johnson who heard him read out the 100 names on the annual list of who’s who.
Mr Hague said: “I am delighted to be here recognising and celebrating the contribution of the British Bangladeshi community to every walk of British life including business, technology and public life.
“British Bangladeshis are very much part of the tapestry that makes up the British success story.”
The list, which highlights talent across 20 categories, saw Her Honour Judge Khatun Sapnara named Person of the Year for “outstanding achievement” as the first British Bangladeshi in a senior judicial position.
BBPI founder and former Tower Hamlets councillor, Abdal Ullah, said in a joint statement with event editor Ayesha Qureshi that the BBPI had gone “from strength to strength”.
He said of Judge Sapnara: “ Not only is she an inspiration to young British Bangladeshis, but it was because we wanted to celebrate people like Judge Sapnara that we started BBPI.”
Tessa Jowell praised the event, saying it was an “important project that highlights role models in the British Bangladeshi community at a time when we need to do more to celebrate and recognise diversity in London and the UK”.
See bbpower-inspiration.com for the full BBPI 2015 list.
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