Act against those who breached EAM’s security: India to UK

A day after issuing a demarche to the UK over the security breach near External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s convoy in London, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday told the UK that its ‘sincerity’ would be judged by the action taken against those responsible for the breach.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, addressing a media briefing, referred to a statement issued by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), saying, “While we have noted the statement issued by the UK Foreign Office on the matter, our view of its sincerity will depend on the action taken against the culprits in this and previous instances.”

The FCDO had on Thursday condemned the incident, stating that attempts to “intimidate, threaten, or disrupt” public events were “completely unacceptable”.

Meanwhile, Jaiswal added, “We have conveyed our deep concern to the UK authorities about the breach of security arrangements by UK-based separatist and extremist elements during EAM’s visit.”

He also highlighted the broader implications of the incident. “It underscores both the licence accorded to such forces and the indifference to their intimidation, threats and other actions aimed at impeding our legitimate diplomatic activities in the UK,” he said.

On Wednesday night, a protester attempted to tear an Indian flag just metres from Jaishankar’s car as he exited Chatham House in London. Outside the venue, a few protesters, holding Khalistan flags, raised pro-Khalistan and anti-India slogans.