The Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, hosted a reception at Speaker’s House to announce the semi-finalists for the 15th British Kebab Awards.
This extraordinary residence within the Palace of Westminster remains a Victorian Gothic masterpiece, with its fan-vaulted cloister, grand staircase and rooms filled with historic artwork — a fitting setting for the evening’s celebration.
“What I love about kebabs, aside from the taste…” he began, before quickly moving into a celebration of immigration and the contribution the British kebab community makes to the UK economy, “contributing £2.8 billion each year to the UK economy, supporting more than 200,000 jobs.
More than 20,000 kebab restaurants and takeaways across the UK. Selling more than 1.3 million kebabs every day.”
Co-hosting the evening, Dawn Butler MP spoke about the contribution made by the kebab community:
“If you look around this room, you have some of the hardest-working people in this room, keeping our High Streets alive and vibrant. At a time when some people want to divide us based on where we come from, our immigration status, or the colour of our skin, there’s one thing that I know about my local kebab shop…”
Businessman Baron Bilimoria, who launched a successful drinks company, continued the theme of the contribution immigrants make to society:
“All this talk about immigration is all about bad immigration, illegal immigration, dangerous immigration. Why don’t we talk about the good immigration? These awards are a celebration of what immigration can do for this country.”
“Without the contribution of the approaching 20% of ethnic minorities in this country, we would not, with less than 1% of the world population, be the sixth-largest economy in the world.”
Beyond the Kebab: A Celebration of Britain’s Diversify
Founder of the Awards, Ibrahim Dogus — a Labour councillor, restaurateur and longstanding community figure in both the UK and Turkey — spoke about the purpose behind the event:
“These awards are about giving businesses a platform, about saying that hospitality matters, that small business matters, that hardworking people deserve recognition.”
“One of the proudest things about these awards for me is seeing businesses grow in confidence because somebody says: we see you, we value what you do, your contribution matters.”
“That is what tonight is about: recognition, opportunity, enterprise, community, and the belief that Britain is stronger because of the people who came here, built here, employed here, and made this country their home.”
The overriding message of the evening was clear: immigrants are not merely part of Britain’s story, but central to its cultural and economic success.
In a climate where some seek to divide society by blaming immigrants for the country’s problems, the event was a reminder that those challenges are shaped by political choices and government policy — not by the people who come here, work hard, build businesses and contribute to their communities.