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LONDON: British MP Preet Gill has on the floor of the House of Commons accused “agents with links to India” of transnational repression of British Sikhs.
In oral questions to the home office on Monday Gill, a Labour Sikh MP, asked what assessment security minister Tom Tugendhat “has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by his department to tackle transnational repression by hostile states”.
“In recent months Five Eyes nations have raised concerns about the actions of agents with links to India targeting Sikh activists here in the UK,” Gill said in the main chamber during home office oral questions.
“Most disturbingly there have been alleged assassination and foiled assassination plots,” she said, referring to the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and an alleged foiled plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, both designated as terrorists by India.
She praised US and Canadian authorities for taking the lead at senior levels to publicly call out “this challenge to their sovereignty, to the rule of law and their democratic values” and said that “transnational repression” to silence dissent in democracies is extremely serious. She then asked: “Given reports of British Sikhs facing similar threats, what steps is the government taking to secure their safety and will he show the same strength as our partners to publicly defend their democratic rights?”
Tugendhat responded that “the government is continually assessing potential threats to individual rights, freedoms and safety in the UK” and uses its intelligence services to mitigate any threats to individuals. He pointed out the recent national security act included measures to tackle foreign interference, including transnational repression, and the “Defending Democracy Taskforce” was reviewing UK’s response.
“If there are any specific threats against any British citizen by any foreign power, we will take immediate action. The Sikh community should be as safe in UK as every other community. We have taken all action we believe is appropriate at this stage. We maintain a very close relationship with our Five Eyes partners. We are absolutely clear that when or if the situation changes, and we need to take action, we will do so.”
Gill was one of several cross-party MPs who met Tugendhat recently to air their concerns following reports of “threat to life warnings” being handed out by UK police to several British Sikhs.
In oral questions to the home office on Monday Gill, a Labour Sikh MP, asked what assessment security minister Tom Tugendhat “has made of the effectiveness of steps taken by his department to tackle transnational repression by hostile states”.
“In recent months Five Eyes nations have raised concerns about the actions of agents with links to India targeting Sikh activists here in the UK,” Gill said in the main chamber during home office oral questions.
“Most disturbingly there have been alleged assassination and foiled assassination plots,” she said, referring to the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and an alleged foiled plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel of Sikhs for Justice, both designated as terrorists by India.
She praised US and Canadian authorities for taking the lead at senior levels to publicly call out “this challenge to their sovereignty, to the rule of law and their democratic values” and said that “transnational repression” to silence dissent in democracies is extremely serious. She then asked: “Given reports of British Sikhs facing similar threats, what steps is the government taking to secure their safety and will he show the same strength as our partners to publicly defend their democratic rights?”
Tugendhat responded that “the government is continually assessing potential threats to individual rights, freedoms and safety in the UK” and uses its intelligence services to mitigate any threats to individuals. He pointed out the recent national security act included measures to tackle foreign interference, including transnational repression, and the “Defending Democracy Taskforce” was reviewing UK’s response.
“If there are any specific threats against any British citizen by any foreign power, we will take immediate action. The Sikh community should be as safe in UK as every other community. We have taken all action we believe is appropriate at this stage. We maintain a very close relationship with our Five Eyes partners. We are absolutely clear that when or if the situation changes, and we need to take action, we will do so.”
Gill was one of several cross-party MPs who met Tugendhat recently to air their concerns following reports of “threat to life warnings” being handed out by UK police to several British Sikhs.
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