Actor fourth in list of most influential Asian people in Britain, as London mayor takes top spot for second year running

The actors Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel are the biggest climbers on the new list of the most influential Asian people in Britain, which is topped by Sadiq Khan for a second successive year after he took on Donald Trump and Uber.

The mayor of London beat the cabinet ministers Sajid Javid and Priti Patel to the top of the power list, published on Thursday, which features 101 names. But it is notable for a shift away from dominance by male entrepreneurs and industrialists, and towards increasing representation from other fields, including the arts.

Ahmed, who last month won an Emmy award for his performance in the HBO drama The Night Of, is the highest non-politician on the list at fourth place.

The star of Four Lions and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has spoken about being racially profiled in airports and, in March, warned that the failure to champion diversity on TV was alienating young people from minority backgrounds, driving them towards extremism and into the arms of Isis.

Riz Ahmed warns lack of diversity on TV will drive young to Isis Read more

Only Patel, who this year was nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor in the film Lion, rose more places than Ahmed, up 61 spots to 21st position.

Shailesh Solanki, executive editor of the GG2 Power List, said: “There’s always been a big debate about [recognition of people from minority backgrounds in] the creative industries. We’ve had the issue of ‘all-white’ Oscars, and many actors talk about having to go to the US to make it and then come back.

“Riz Ahmed has been very outspoken and vociferous about issues of diversity, but it’s important to recognise that [the success of the people on the list] builds on the efforts of previous generations [of actors] like Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar.”

Solanki said progress had been made in the proportion of women on the list (25%), although he acknowledged that more needed to be done.

The highest new entry, female or male, was Gina Miller (number 26), who won a Brexit legal challenge against the UK government. Earlier this week, Miller, who was born in British Guiana (now Guyana) to parents of Indian descent, was named as the country’s most influential black person.



The chair of Santander UK, Shriti Vadera, was the second highest woman on the list. Solanki said her inclusion showed Asian people were not just “shopkeepers and doctors”.

Among those breaking down stereotypes is Nikesh Mehta, deputy director of GCHQ, a new entry at number 89. Last year, Mehta became the first serving intelligence officer to answer questions on the radio in their own name when he appeared on the BBC’s Asian Network. He said he hoped his inclusion would encourage others to consider the same line of work.

“Making it on the list is quite a surreal experience,” he said. “I don’t think there are many people from the diplomatic or security service who have made it on to the list – it’s pretty humbling.

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“It gives me a chance to talk about why it’s important for the foreign service and diplomatic service to have a diverse workforce. The need for us to respond to complex threats means we have to have the best possible group of people able to tackle it.

“Mostly, our [Asian] parents and other generations wouldn’t have spoken to us about working as a journalist or intelligence officer. I hope the work I am doing and others are doing on this agenda will change that.”



Tej Lalvani (number 48), who runs the vitamins company Vitabiotics with his father, Kartar, said he too hoped to set a positive example, after a year in which he joined the panel on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den. “It shows what’s possible with hard work – it’s good for people to aspire to,” he added.

Solanki said there was no doubt about Khan topping the list after a year in which he publicly stood up to Donald Trump, the US president.

“He [Khan] started off very well by winning the biggest mandate of any politician in western Europe and I think he’s grown in stature in the last one and a half years,” said Solanki. “He hasn’t shied away from tackling big decisions, taking on Trump and Uber, and his reaction to [the fire at] Grenfell was impressive.”

• This article was amended on 27 October 2017. An earlier version said Tej Lalvani was number 58 on the list. This has been corrected to 48.

