Investment News Editor (Page 20)

British actor Idris Elba has told the BBC that he will relocate to Africa within the next decade as part of his plans to support the continent’s movie industry.

The 52-year-old star of the hit series The Wire is behind nascent projects to build a film studio on the Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar as well as one in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

Born in London, Elba, whose mother is from Ghana and father from Sierra Leone, has a strong attachment to Africa.

He wants to leverage his star power to back its burgeoning film business as he says it is vital that Africans get to tell their own stories.

“I would certainly consider settling down here; not even consider, it’s going to happen,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of a cinema industry meeting in Accra.

“I think [I’ll move] in the next five, 10 years, God willing. I’m here to bolster the film industry – that is a 10-year process – I won’t be able to do that from overseas. I need to be in-country, on the continent.”

But in the spirit of Pan-Africanism he will not commit to living in a specific place.

“I’m going to live in Accra, I’m going to live in Freetown [Sierra Leone’s capital], I’m going to live in Zanzibar. I’m going to try and go where they’re telling stories – that’s really important.”

One goal he does have is to make a film in his studio in Accra one day.

Elba, who played South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in the 2013 biopic Long Walk to Freedom, believes that it is vital for Africans to be centre-stage in the entire film-making process. That is in front of the camera, behind the camera and also in financing, distribution, marketing and showing the final product.

He imagines that just as movie audiences around the world know the differences between the US cities of New York and Los Angeles without necessarily ever having visited them, they will one day have a more nuanced understanding of the continent.

“This sector is a soft power, not just across Ghana but across Africa.

“If you watch any film or anything that has got to do with Africa, all you’re going to see is trauma, how we were slaves, how we were colonised, how it’s just war and when you come to Africa, you will realise that it’s not true.

“So, it’s really important that we own those stories of our tradition, of our culture, of our languages, of the differences between one language and another. The world doesn’t know that.”

With Nigeria’s Nollywood producing hundreds of movies a year, films are arguably one of the country’s most successful exports. There is also a tradition, especially in parts of Francophone Africa, of making high-quality films.

Elba has previously recognised the talent in Africa’s film industry, but said the facilities were “lacking”.

A 2022 report from Unesco backed up the actor.

The UN’s cultural agency said that despite “significant growth in production”, the business of film-making across the continent was hindered by issues such as piracy, insubstantial training opportunities and a lack of official film institutions.

Elba believes with the right momentum and involvement of governments willing to create an enabling environment, a virtuous circle can be established.

“We have to invest in our story-telling because when you see me, you see a little version of yourself and that encourages us.”

It had been suggested P&O owners DP World might shelve the plan after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh described the ferry company as a “rogue operator”.

But Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC DP World’s plan to expand its London Gateway port “will go ahead”.

The row had threatened to overshadow a major government summit starting on Monday, at which ministers want to showcase investment into the UK.

But DP World will now attend the International Investment Summit, where the government hopes to attract billions of pounds of investment.

The row started after an interview on Wednesday in which Haigh said she had been boycotting P&O Ferries since its decision in 2022 to sack 800 staff and replace them with cheaper agency workers, adding she would “encourage consumers to do the same”.

The company has defended the decision as “tough but necessary,” arguing it was required to safeguard the future of the firm.

Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Reynolds said his cabinet colleague had not been expressing “the government’s position”.

He added that Labour maintained the sackings were “wrong”, but highlighted that it had now announced plans to tighten legal protections for seafarers.

“It’s now the case that, as we’re in government, we can stop what happened with P&O Ferries happening again,” he added.

Speaking on Sky News, Reynolds said the government had had to “have a conversation” with DP World, following reports the investment would be shelved.

Reynold’s comments came after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also told the BBC’s Newscast on Friday that Haigh’s views were not those of the government’s.

On Saturday a government source said the prime minister had confidence in Haigh. Her department says she will be attending the investment summit on Monday.

Haigh’s comments had coincided with the Department for Transport announcing new legislation aimed at protecting seafarers’ jobs from so-called “fire and rehire” practices of “rogue employers”.

Former Tory donor John Caudwell, who announced he would be voting Labour ahead of July’s general election, said it was “politically stupid” to criticise companies when ministers were seeking more investment into the UK.

The Phones 4U founder told Laura Kuenssberg that ministers should speak to firms privately about their working practices, “rather than just blast them on the TV”.

Haigh’s remarks have also attracted criticism from the Conservatives, with shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake arguing Labour “don’t understand business”.

However, Liam Byrne, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons business committee, has defended her comments.

He said Haigh had been “absolutely right to say the behaviour of P&O, owned by DP World, in the past has been “completely unacceptable”.

DP World has said the expansion of the London Gateway port would bring Thurrock in Essex hundreds of jobs.

The United Arab Emirates-based company also owns the container port in Southampton.

A spokesperson for the company told the BBC it had been “given the clarity we need” after “constructive and positive discussions with the government”.

“We look forward to participating in Monday’s International Investment Summit,” they added.