The United Kingdom on Thursday condemned the breach of security of external affairs minister S Jaishankar after a pro-Khalistan protester broke past a barrier and approached the minister’s motorcade at Chatham House in London on Wednesday evening.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said that such attempts to “intimidate, threaten, or disrupt” public events are “completely unacceptable”.
“We strongly condemn the incident that took place outside Chatham House yesterday (Wednesday) during the External Affairs Minister’s visit to the UK,” the FCDO spokesperson said, according to PTI.
“While the UK upholds the right to peaceful protest, any attempts to intimidate, threaten, or disrupt public events are completely unacceptable. The Metropolitan Police acted swiftly to address the situation, and we remain fully committed to ensuring the security of all our diplomatic visitors, in line with our international obligations,” the spokesperson said.
Security breach at Chatham House
The incident at Chatham House, home to the Royal Institute of International Affairs, occurred on the second day of Jaishankar’s nearly week-long visit to the UK and Ireland.
Videos posted on social media showed a small group of pro-Khalistan protesters gathered on the opposite side of the road from Chatham House and protesting with yellow flags behind metal barriers while Jaishankar was speaking within the building. The protesters shouted slogans such as “Khalistan Zindabad”.
As Jaishankar emerged from the building after his event and was about to enter his vehicle that was part of a motorcade, a tall man with an Indian flag emerged from behind the barriers, broke through a police cordon and ran towards Jaishankar’s motorcade.
He jostled with police personnel and stood in front of the vehicle before tearing the Indian flag. He was subsequently taken away by the police.
India’s reaction
India has strongly condemned the security breach outside the Chatham House in London and said that it expects the UK government to “live up to their diplomatic obligations”.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the incident amounted to a breach of the minister’s security and condemned the “provocative activities” of pro-Khalistan elements.
“We have seen footage of a breach of security during the visit of EAM [external affairs minister] to the UK. We condemn the provocative activities of this small group of separatists and extremists,” Jaiswal said.
“We deplore the misuse of democratic freedoms by such elements. We expect the host government in such cases to fully live upto their diplomatic obligations.”
