Mining: Pollution

Lord Hain Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hain (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Oates, on a very good speech, on securing this debate and on his solidarity work for the charity Action for Southern Africa, of which I am an honorary vice-president. It organised an excellent event in a room in your Lordships’ House, which I hosted, at which a victim still resident in Kabwe spoke movingly alongside Her Excellency the Zambian High Commissioner.

The main point I want to raise is that, on 21 November 2025, Anglo American announced a “partnership” with the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to

“support inclusive growth and sustainable development through Anglo American’s Impact Finance Network (IFN) in South Africa”.

Beginning this month, January 2026, the FCDO will provide £4.5 million, which is 100 million in Zambia’s currency, over four years to support Anglo American’s impact finance network programme in South Africa.

Since the aim of the grant is to

“support inclusive growth and sustainable development”,

how does this square with Anglo being accused by communities around the world of working against that very aim? Did the FCDO consult any relevant communities, NGOs or civil society organisations, such as Action for Southern Africa, before making that grant? Was any due diligence conducted into Anglo American’s role in the contracting by thousands of Southern African miners of TB and silicosis, and in the deliberate delaying of those miners receiving the compensation they won in a landmark 2019 legal case?

Was due diligence conducted in regard to Anglo American’s role in lead pollution in Kabwe, about which the noble Lord, Lord Oates, spoke so movingly and accurately, particularly in the light of class action proceedings revealing how much the company knew about the lead pollution and the serious nature of it, before it handed on to its successor company one of the world’s most polluted towns—if not the world’s most polluted town—where 95% of children have lead poisoning?

I ask these questions while recognising that Anglo American played an important role in developing employment and growth across the African continent and elsewhere. However, this surely must be compatible with social justice and human rights. The UK Labour Government are supposed to support those principles, as I, as a former Labour Minister on Africa for the United Kingdom, once did as well.