The House of Commons has been told that the British government “very seriously” considers the security of the Indian High Commission in London and promptly reacts to criminal occurrences at diplomatic missions.
UK Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said on Monday that the government considers the criminal damage and attacks on workers at the Indian High Commission in London last month “unacceptable” in response to a written parliamentary question from Indian-origin Labour MP Navendu Mishra.
The protection of the Indian High Commission’s security is something that the government takes very seriously, according to Tugendhat.
“The government is still committed to safeguarding the safety of missions operating around the UK, including by avoiding and resolving events like this as soon as they occur. It was inappropriate for the India High Commission workers to attack and cause criminal damage to property during the event that occurred during the weekend of March 18. According to him, the police are empowered to respond to such activities.
The Home Office minister said that the police were in charge of the case’s follow-ups as an operational issue, and that any decisions on potential criminal prosecution would be taken in collaboration with the Crown Prosecution Service of the UK (CPS).
“As noted in our last answer, it has always been our practice to withhold specific details about diplomatic security measures. Doing so may jeopardize the arrangements’ integrity and have an impact on the security of the involved people and places, the official said.
End of last month, Mishra submitted his query in an effort to learn more about the security assessments made by the British government in the immediate wake of the assault on the High Commission facilities and the measures being taken “to safeguard the safety and security of diplomatic missions.”
It comes as news broke that the attempted vandalism of India House in London during the demonstration last month would be handled by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), since it includes illegal acts carried out by certain individuals with Indian identity overseas.
According to representatives of India, the Illegal Activities (Prevention) Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act were used to file a complaint against the special cell of the Delhi Police, which will now be investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
On March 19, a day after the local police in Punjab began a campaign against extremist preacher Amritpal Singh, a group of pro-Khalistani demonstrators broke windows at the London mission and tore down the national flag.