STANDING up in the House of Lords, Lord Popat of Harrow declared his gratitude to this country.

He said: “The tale of Ugandan Asians in Britain is one that makes me proud, particularly when I see how much the new generation of British Indians has excelled.

“In 40 years, we have come far and I hope that our community continues to pay Britain back for what she has given us.”

On December 6 last year, Lord Popat, a former refugee and self-made millionaire, was commemorating the 40th anniversary of the exodus of Asians from Uganda.

Of the 28,000 people who came to this country, a large number settled in and around London, including in Harrow and Brent, as well as Leicester in the East Midlands.

Lord Popat said: “Of the 28,000 who came here, about 7,000 went to Leicester and 4,000 came to Brent and Harrow. Now many of them have moved further outwards to Pinner and Northwood as they get older.”

A new project aims to record people’s memories as a record for future generations and Judith Garfield, executive director of Eastside Community Heritage, is running it.

She said: “We thought it was a really important time to celebrate the contribution that the community has made to the economy and community in general.

“We have done a number of interviews so far but we are also focusing on other areas in London as well as Harrow, such as Newham and Redbridge.”

Lord Popat remembers the coup in Uganda in January 1971 when Idi Amin seized power.

He left the country to study in the UK a few months later and arrived with just £10 in his pocket.

In August 1972, the powerful dictator announced that he’d had a dream to expel the Asians from Uganda and he gave them just three months to leave. More than 60,000 were expelled and 28,000 came to the UK as they had been given British passports when the country gained independence.

Ms Garfield said: “It was a difficult time as some people came here with family in the country and other people knew no one.

“They came with a very small suitcase and the clothes on their backs and started again.

“They have had a huge impact on life in London and the country as a whole. They have created jobs, businesses and added to the economy. There are quite a few in positions of power, it has been a substantial contribution.”

On arriving at Stansted Airport, many were housed in a refugee camp in Suffolk.

Taru Devani and her husband, Shashi, arrived from Kenya in 1972, but Taru had grown up with 10 brothers and sisters in Uganda and remembers collecting three of her brothers from the camp.

Mr Devani and his wife were living in a one-bedroom flat in Cricklewood at the time and hired a car to pick up brothers Mansukh, 28, Mahendra, 24, and Mahesh Kotecha, 19, who were the only family members left in the country and had all fled from Uganda.

Mansukh, his wife and two young daughters, also stayed in the small flat. They all worked hard to find jobs and Mahesh ended up staying with his sister for the next three years.

Mr Devani said: “It was quite a traumatic time for them.

“On the final day when they went to the airport they were stopped at a number of checkpoints and were searched and held at gunpoint.

“When they arrived they hardly had anything at all. They worked very hard and now they are all settled and happy now, but life in Uganda before was very good, the problem was there was no security.

“I think they are all happy living in a safe country.”

It is undeniable the contribution of Ugandan Asians on this country.

Lord Popat is a successful businessman and politician who, in July 2010, became a Member of the House of Lords as a life peer and is the first Gujarati to represent the Conservative party in the House of Lords.

A trained accountant, he diversified into the healthcare sector in the late 1980s and owns care homes in Harrow and Brent, and then into the hospitality sector in the late 1990s.

He is president of Harrow East Conservative Association, a founding director of St Luke’s Hospice in Kenton and supports many other local charities.

Lord Popat paid tribute to the kindness Ugandan Asians have been shown in his speech.

He said: “So why have the Ugandan Asians been so successful in Britain? The answer, I believe, lies in our values. We believe in Britain: its values, its tradition and its ability to act as a beacon on the international stage.

“The tale of Ugandan Asians in Britain is one that makes me proud, particularly when I see how much the new generation of British Indians has excelled.

“In 40 years, we have come far and I hope that our community continues to pay Britain back for what she has given us.”