On 10^th April 2012 Barry hosted a meeting of the Justice for Bhopal campaign bringing together a number of groups representing the Indian community in the UK. The meeting set out a plan for the next stage of their campaign in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The group includes representatives of the UK's 800,000 strong Hindu community as well as representatives from other faith groups including the Muslim Council of Britain, The Assamese community, the National Council of Gujarati Organisations, The Zoroastrian Trust Fund of Europe and representatives of Britain's Jain community.

For more information on the Justice for Bhopal campaign please click here.

On Tuesday 21 February 2012, Barry addressed Parliament about ways to make sure the environment is not harmed during the events of the London Olympics, continuing the campaign against the involvement of Dow Chemicals in London 2012.

Barry is committed to raising awareness in Parliament regarding Dow Chemical's involvement to India's Bhopas gas disaster in 1984, which killed more than 15,000 people. The US firm was awarded the £7m contract to provide the decorative wrap for London's Olympic Stadium, despite continuing criticism of its involvement to India's Bjopas gas disaster in 1984.

A full text of Barry's speech can be found here:

Barry Gardiner MP took the opportunity of Republic Day to praise India for her phenomenal growth and modernisation over the past 63 years in a major speech on UK aid to India in Parliament. 

Happy Republic Day from all at Labour Friends of India!

“200 days to drop Dow from the London Olympics”, that was the message Barry gave out in Trafalgar Square on January the 9th as he joined campaigners in Chennai, Bhopal, Nicaragua, Michigan and Vietnam to protest against Dow Chemical’s involvements in the London Games. Barry continues to fight for the integrity of the Olympic Games, which he fears will be damaged by Dow's inexcusable human rights violations in regards to the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. 

Barry and other campaigners gathered in front of the Olympic Countdown Clock in Trafalgar Square and challenged Lord Coe, Chair of the London Organising Committee, to share a glass of "B’eau Pal": contaminated water from the Bhopal site which local residents are still forced to drink every day. Labour Friends of India campaign to kick Dow out of the London Olympics gained huge momentum when Meredith Alexander, one of the 13 commissioners for the Games, resigned.

Mrs Alexander said she had resigned because she felt uneasy about the Commission's relationship with Dow. Following Mrs Alexander’s resignation, Chief Minister Chouhan, of the State of Madhya Pradesh, called for a boycott of the Games if Dow was not dropped.

The petition on change.org has over 17,000 signatures. There are only 200 days left to kick Dow out of the Olympics. Please help and click here to sign the petition.

Left Foot Forward: 200 days to drop Dow

This week I’ve been busy campaigning with Labour Friends of India. Our campaign to get the London Olympic organisers (LOCOG) to drop Dow Chemical Company as a sponsor is gathering momentum.

Friday was the 27^th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster and we held events in 3 continents to mark the occasion. We have been supported in the campaign by the Indian Government, the Indian Olympic Association and a host of celebrities, politicians, Olympians and ordinary people from across the world.

On Monday, the Indian Government asked the Indian Olympic Association to officially take up the issue with both LOCOG and the International Olympic Committee. They also refused to take the threat of a boycott off the table, saying only “we hope this situation does not arise”. We are yet to have a response from LOCOG or the ICO.

On Saturday I raised the issue of the ongoing contamination at Bhopal to leading politicians from 18 of the G20 countries at the Durban Climate Change Conference. Organisers of the event also agreed to hold a 2 minute silence to mark the tragic anniversary and commemorate the 25,000 people who have died to date as a result of the disaster.

Barry Gardiner MP, as Chair of Labour Friends of India, along with survivors of the Bhopal disaster and Indian Olympians, launched a new campaign at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford on Tuesday to protest the decision to award Dow Chemical Company the contract to build the decorative wrapping on the Olympic Stadium.

Barry and Labour Friends of India are appalled by Dow's human rights record in regards to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster puts the Olympic legacy at risk.

Dow owns Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), which was responsible for the 1984 gas leak in Bhopal. Half a million people were exposed to the gas and 25,000 have died to date as a result of their exposure. More than 120,000 people still suffer from illness caused by the accident and the pollution that followed at the plant site.