The safety and security of foreign diplomats is of the utmost concern, according to the UK’s minister for the Indo-Pacific. Her statement comes after radicals on Friday barred Vikram Doraiswami, the Indian high commissioner to the UK, from entering a gurdwara in Glasgow.
The Indian high commissioner was prevented from meeting with the Glasgow gurdwara committee, Anne-Marie Trevelyan wrote on X, adding that “the safety and security of foreign diplomats is of the utmost importance and our places of worship in the UK must be open to all.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the metropolitan police were informed of the “disgraceful incident” outside the Glasgow gurdwara when Sikh extremists attempted to open the Indian high commissioner’s car door (a significant security breach), preventing him from attending a function inside.
A larger disturbance was only averted because of one of the event organizers’ quick thinking and physical intervention at the car door, according to the Indian high commission, which urged UK authorities to take action against the offenders.
Senior community leaders, women, committee members, and a Scottish Parliament member were among the event’s organizers.
The diplomatic mission confirmed that three individuals, all of whom were from outside Scotland, “deliberately disrupted” a gathering that had been planned for the community, the high commissioner, and the consul-general of India in Edinburgh, Bijay Selvaraj, at the Glasgow Gurdwara in Albert Drive. The statement read, “This interaction was to discuss community and consular issues.”
These people intimidated and mistreated them. The HC and CG opted to leave the premises immediately after they arrived in an effort to avoid any incident,” it stated.