David Lammy essentially removed himself as Foreign Secretary in the case of Marcus Fakana. Now, they are appealing to opposition parties to help.
Tottenham MP and Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has claimed in a Sky news interview that “It would not be appropriate for me to comment on any individual case except to say that of course as you would expect, his family have had all the full support available”, but Marcus’s family know that’s not true.
Lammy claimed that he could only act as either MP or Foreign Secretary due to “a conflict” then chose to act as MP, essentially removing himself as Foreign Secretary. Marcus’s family were stunned that he refused to act as a Foreign Secretary for Marcus. “If Marcus were from any other area in the UK, his MP would have lobbied Lammy to enter diplomatic conversations with his Dubai counterparts”, explained Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, who is representing the family. “It’s outrageous to remove himself from the case. He clearly did not want to help or have those conversations with the Dubai government. He is absolutely fine to see a young British tourist jailed for relations with someone who was one month away from being 18, simply saying you should follow the law.
We have seen numerous unfair prosecutions over the past 17 years for ‘crimes’ like social media posts, sharing charities online, drinking alcohol provided onboard a flight, using a VPN or complaining about noise to a neighbour. David Lammy is absolutely able to diplomatically secure a non-custodial sentence for Marcus if he does his job as MP and Foreign Secretary. We and the Fakana family will lobby every constituent of Tottenham to make it well known he does not effectively represent them. We urge the British public to make their voices heard for Marcus and write to David Lammy expressing their concerns.
Stirling continued, “we have contacted the opposition, including Reform UK to express our disappointment at how the labor party is handling Marcus’s life. We have recently worked with the Vice President Elect, JD Vance, who was able to get his constituents home in just two weeks. He genuinely cared and got the job done. Another client of ours has just received good news that he won’t get a custodial sentence for sending allegedly threatening emojis. Ireland got Tori Towey home in just one week while Canada got André Gauthier home despite him having around 70 separate charges against him. There is absolutely no need for a custodial sentence for Marcus. He should not lose his freedom for consensual sex with another British tourist, something that is completely legal in the UK. A fine and deportation as well as the past several months of stress and anxiety is damaging enough.”
The public outcry surrounding Marcus has been widespread. “Marcus is very grateful for the support he’s received, for every single message, TikTok and social media post. He’s asking people to write to David Lammy and express their concerns over the lack of diplomatic intervention. The fact is, we see other countries helping their citizens and we’ve even see Jeremy Hunt threaten sanctions. It’s not that hard. Just ask JD Vance”.
