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Tag: british

  • British MPs Forum to promote ties with India

    British MPs Forum to promote ties with India

    British Indian think-tank 1928 Institute will be the secretariat of this new group, which brings together the different India-UK parliamentary panels of the past under one umbrella…reports Asian Lite News

    A new India All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has been launched for the newly elected UK Parliament with a remit to promote the bilateral relationship across all sectors, from trade and investment, science and technology to healthcare and education.

    The India APPG was formally launched earlier this week and celebrated during an “Indian Summer” event marking the ongoing South Asian Heritage Month at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Room in the Houses of Parliament complex, where several newly elected British Indian members of Parliament backed the initiative.

    The new cross-party panel will be co-chaired by crossbench peer in the House of Lords Karan Bilimoria and new British Sikh Labour MP Jeevun Sandher.

    “It is serendipitous that we celebrate the UK-India partnership just as we launched the new India APPG, which I am proud to co-chair,” said Bilimoria.

    “The India APPG promotes the strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the UK and India, focusing on key areas such as trade and Investment, education, sustainable development, culture, health, science and innovation, including technology and AI, and defence and security,” he said.

    He said it will help enhance the relationship between both countries’ parliaments and governments on a national and regional level, and also continue to promote people-to-people links, including the living bridge between the people of Indian origin in the UK and India.

    British Indian think-tank 1928 Institute will be the secretariat of this new APPG, which brings together the different India-UK parliamentary panels of the past under one umbrella.

    While Baroness Sandy Verma will be the President of the group, MPs making up India APPG will include Gurinder Josan, Warinder Juss, Kirith Entwhistle, Sojan Joseph and Kanishka Narayan from Labour, Shivani Raja and Bob Blackman from the Conservatives and a number of veteran peers including Lord Navnit Dholakia (Liberal Democrats) and Lord Dolar Popat (Tories), among others.

    APPGs are informal, cross-party groups in the UK formed by members of both Houses of Parliament who share a common interest in a particular policy area, region or country.

    “Many of the all-party group members have been extremely active way before it was fashionable to be active on this subject, so thank you for your longevity. I’m looking forward very much to seeing new young members getting involved,” said Catherine West, the UK’s new Indo-Pacific Minister in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

    “My boss, David Lammy – the Foreign Secretary, has already visited India. He has had conversations with many, many partners in India about how we can deepen our relationship, not just in the political sense, but also in terms of understanding the economy, health, education,” she said.

    The South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) is marked annually in the UK between July 18 and August 17, coinciding with Indian independence celebrations.

    “The 18th of July 1947 is the date on which the Indian Independence Act gained Royal Assent. That’s when King George VI signed independence for India into law. The 17th of August 1947 is a date on which the borders were drawn between India and Pakistan,” shared Jasvir Singh, SAHM Co-Founder and Chair of City Sikhs.

    “That’s a fundamental part of this month, understanding the links that Britain and British history has to South Asia because South Asian history is British history. This year, our theme is ‘free to be me’ – it’s about the ability to talk about what it is that makes us unique as individuals, what are the intersectionalities that make up who we are,” he added.

    FTA With India

    Meanwhile, highlighting the ongoing talks on the India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Kevin Mccole, Managing Director of the UK-India Business Council, said that they are hopeful that some deal could be done quickly and then built upon while moving forward.

    He noted that in the Labour Party’s manifesto, they restated their commitment to conclude negotiations on the FTA.

    “It is important that in the Labour Party’s manifesto going into the general election, they restated their commitment to concluding negotiations on the FTA, ratifying it and then implementing it, making it a real success,” Mccole said.

    Reiterating the UK Foreign Secretary’s statement, he noted that David Lammy sees FTA as a “floor” for both countries’ trade and investment relationship, and not a “ceiling”.

    “And one of the things David Lammy says he sees the FTA as a floor for the UK-India trade and investment relationship, not a ceiling,” he said.

    “So we’re hopeful that some deal could be done quickly and then built upon as we move forward,” Mccole added.

    However, he said that people should not expect negotiations to conclude very quickly, as the Labour government came to power recently only.

    “I think people maybe shouldn’t expect negotiations to start and conclude very quickly. The Labour government came to power just three weeks ago and they’ve got a big agenda to achieve,” he said.

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  • British man charged after allegedly joining Syrian terror group

    British man charged after allegedly joining Syrian terror group

    Pro-Tehran demonstrators had held an event to mark the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last week…reports Asian Lite News

    A British man who allegedly travelled to Syria to fight for the Jaish Al-Fatah group has been charged with terrorism offences, the Metropolitan Police said on Saturday.

    Isa Giga was arrested after arriving in London aboard a flight from Turkey on Thursday. He was due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday. He is suspected of traveling to commit acts of terrorism.

    “We have been clear for some time now that should anyone return to the UK whom we suspect of being involved in any terrorist-related activity overseas, then they can expect to be thoroughly investigated,” Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the force’s Counter Terrorism Command told the BBC.

    “We work very closely with other partners and agencies here in the UK and overseas in order to do this and help keep the public safe.”

    Supporters, opponents of Tehran clash in London

    Clashes in London between supporters and opponents of Iran’s government on Friday left four people with injuries, Sky News reported on Saturday.

    One person was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder following the clashes. Metropolitan Police officers were called to the scene at about 6 p.m. following reports of violence.

    Pro-Tehran demonstrators had held an event to mark the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last week.

    Outside the venue, anti-Tehran protesters held a counter-demonstration, and clashes broke out between the two sides.

    A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said four people were treated by paramedics for injuries. “Their injuries are not believed to be either life threatening or life changing,” the spokesperson added.

    “Further inquiries will now follow to establish what further offences took place and to identify those involved.”

    British RAF pilot dies after aircraft crash

    Meanwhile, A British Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot was killed after a Spitfire crashed near an RAF base in Lincolnshire, an RAF spokesperson has said.

    “It is with great sadness that we must confirm the death of an RAF pilot in a tragic accident near RAF Coningsby today,” said the spokesperson on Saturday.

    Earlier, a Lincolnshire police spokesperson said a “single occupant aircraft” is believed to have crashed and nobody else is thought to have been involved, Xinhua news agency reported.

    British media reported that the plane went down shortly before 1220 GMT and the crashed Spitfire was taking part in a Battle of Britain memorial event.

    RAF Coningsby is home to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, a collection of wartime fighter and bomber aircraft that take part in air shows and memorial displays.

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  • US, British defense chiefs discuss Middle East threats

    US, British defense chiefs discuss Middle East threats

    US and British forces have launched joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis’ ability to target vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route…reports Asian Lite News

    US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his British counterpart Grant Shapps at the Pentagon Wednesday for talks on security threats in the Middle East, the Pentagon said.

    They discussed issues including “the escalating attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups on US troops in the Middle East” and “the illegal Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea,” as well as humanitarian assistance for Gaza and support for Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement.

    “Secretary Austin thanked Secretary Shapps for the United Kingdom’s steadfast support and leadership in coalition efforts to stave off further Houthi aggression, while defending naval and international commercial vessels exercising navigational rights and freedoms,” Ryder said, referring to attacks on shipping by the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels.

    US and British forces have launched joint strikes aimed at reducing the Houthis’ ability to target vessels transiting the key Red Sea trade route — attacks the rebels say are in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is at war with Hamas.

    US and allied forces in Iraq, Syria and Jordan have been attacked more than 165 times since mid-October, many of them claimed by a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups that opposes American support for Israel in the Gaza conflict and the presence of Washington’s troops in the region.

    On Sunday, a drone struck a military base in northeastern Jordan, killing three US soldiers and wounding more than 40 — the first American military deaths in an attack in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in early October.

    Washington blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack, vowing a decisive response.

    Earlier, US and UK imposed sanctions on a network of people who targeted Iranian opposition activists for assassination under Iran’s orders, the US Treasury Department had said.

    The US Treasury said the network was directed by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and put sanctions on 11 people connected to it, including Iranian narcotics trafficker Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti.

    “The Iranian regime’s continued efforts to target dissidents and activists demonstrate the regime’s deep insecurity and attempt to expand Iran’s domestic repression internationally,” said Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. There was no immediate comment from Iran.

    The Treasury said that the network, led by Sharifi-Zindashti, had carried out assassinations and kidnappings across several jurisdictions to silence perceived critics of Tehran.

    The Treasury action freezes any US assets of those targeted and generally bans Americans from dealing with them. The Treasury said that in 2021 the network had recruited a Canadian national and British Columbia-based Hells Angels Outlaw Motorcycle Group member, Damion Patrick John Ryan, to assassinate individuals in the US who fled Iran.

    Ryan also allegedly recruited Canadian national and Hells Angels affiliate Adam Richard Pearson to carry out the murders, the Treasury said. Both are currently imprisoned abroad on unrelated charges.

    The sanctions come amid soaring tensions in the Middle East. The US and UK accused Iran-backed groups earlier on Monday of a drone attack in Jordan near the border with Syria that killed three US military personnel.

    Britain imposed sanctions on Iranian officials it said were involved in threats to kill journalists on British soil and others it said were part of international criminal gangs linked to Tehran.

    The UK Foreign Office said it would “sanction seven individuals and one organisation, including senior Iranian officials and members of organised criminal gangs who collaborate with the regime.”

    “The Iranian regime and the criminal gangs who operate on its behalf pose an unacceptable threat to the UK’s security,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement. “The UK and US have sent a clear message – we will not tolerate this threat,” he added.

    Earlier, American forces destroyed a missile belonging to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Wednesday that posed an “imminent threat” to US aircraft, the military said.

    The United States has carried out strikes on the Houthis both unilaterally and jointly with Britain, but previous air raids were focused on reducing the rebels’ ability to target international shipping rather than addressing a danger to aircraft.

    US forces “struck and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile that was prepared to launch” after determining that it “presented an imminent threat to US aircraft,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.

    CENTCOM did not identify the type of aircraft that were threatened or the exact location of the strike, only saying that it took place in “Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.”

    Houthi-run Al-Masirah television had earlier said US and UK aircraft had targeted the northern city of Saada, but did not identify the specific target or provide information on damage or casualties.

    The rebels began targeting Red Sea shipping in November, saying they were hitting Israeli-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza, which has been ravaged by the Israel-Hamas war.

    US and UK forces have responded with strikes on the Houthis, who have since declared American and British interests to be legitimate targets as well.

    Some of the US strikes have been carried out against missiles that CENTCOM has said posed an imminent threat to ships, indicating a robust surveillance effort focused on Houthi-controlled territory that likely involves military aircraft.

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  • British Business Bank makes £147m annual loss

    British Business Bank makes £147m annual loss

    BBB was set up in 2014 to lend money to and buy stakes in smaller UK businesses to help them start up and expand…reports Asian Lite News

    The state-owned British Business Bank (BBB) has swung to an annual pre-tax loss of more than £147m.

    The economic development lender says wider economic problems led to a drop in the valuation of businesses it has invested in. The bank says it made £1.6bn of funding agreements in the year “despite the challenging economic environment”.

    BBB was set up in 2014 to lend money to and buy stakes in smaller UK businesses to help them start up and expand.

    The bank said the value of its investments fell by £146m, or 5%, in the 12 months to the end of March. That compares to a gain of £619m in the previous year. Around the world the valuations of technology firms have fallen in recent months as investors became increasingly wary due to rising borrowing costs and weak economic growth.

    “Given the longer-term 10-year horizon for most of our investments we would expect an overall upward trajectory despite these in-year fluctuations,” the bank’s chief executive Louis Taylor said. Its total funding now stands at £12.4bn to more than 90,000 businesses, beating its £10.7bn target, BBB said.

    The figure does not include the Coronavirus loans which it administered. The BBB is responsible for administering the government’s three Covid-19 loan schemes and its Future Fund, together responsible for delivering more than £80bn in finance to almost 1.7 million businesses. The schemes are now closed to new applications.

    The Future Fund attracted attention after investing taxpayer money in companies such as Bolton Wanderers Football Club and sex party organiser Killing Kittens.

    The bank’s Start Up Loans programme recently reached a milestone of £1bn in lending, with more than half that going to small businesses run by women and ethnic minorities.

    The scheme aims to help underrepresented groups who find themselves excluded from mainstream lenders to help them start businesses, and regions outside of London and south-east England.

    Most the funding comes from lenders outside the UK’s so-called big five banks.

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  • British, Dutch jets go after Russian bombers

    British, Dutch jets go after Russian bombers

    Denmark’s air force said its fighter jets identified the Russian bombers flying over the Baltic Sea toward the Netherlands. The Dutch Defense Ministry said it then scrambled two of its own F-16 fighters…reports Asian Lite News

    The Dutch Defense Ministry and the British Royal Air Force said they scrambled fighter jets on Monday when Russian bombers were tracked flying toward the airspace of the Netherlands and off Scotland, respectively. The pair of Russian warplanes spotted in each location were flying in international airspace.

    Britain’s Royal Air Force said two Typhoon fighters were launched from Lossiemouth to monitor the Russian bombers as they flew north of the Shetland Islands off Scotland. The Russian Tu-142 Bear-F and Tu-142 Bear-J, which are used for maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare, were in airspace that is part of NATO’s northern air policing area, the UK Defense Ministry said.

    Russian aircraft entering the UK’s zone of international airspace can pose a hazard to other planes because they often don’t communicate with air traffic control or broadcast their coordinates, the military said.

    The Typhoons stayed with the Russian planes until they were out of the UK’s area of interest, according to a statement from the lead pilot, who wasn’t named.

    Denmark’s air force said its fighter jets identified the Russian bombers flying over the Baltic Sea toward the Netherlands. The Dutch Defense Ministry said it then scrambled two of its own F-16 fighters.

    “This doesn’t happen often, but today’s incident demonstrates the importance of rapid deployment,” the ministry said. “The F-16s are on standby 24 hours a day and can take off within minutes and intercept an unidentified aircraft.”

    British and German fighter jets were sent up in mid-March to intercept a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace, officials said at the time. The day before, the US had said a Russian fighter jet struck a US surveillance drone over the Black Sea.

    Russia insisted its warplanes didn’t hit the MQ-9 Reaper drone, arguing the drone had maneuvered sharply and crashed into the water. The back-to-back incidents raised concerns about aerial standoffs near Russia and Ukraine

    The Kremlin’s forces have pummeled Odesa since Russia last month broke off a wartime deal to protect Ukraine’s crucial grain exports. The Russian attacks appear aimed at facilities that transport grain and also at wrecking cherished Ukrainian historical sites.

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  • WhatsApp chief slams British laws

    WhatsApp chief slams British laws

    The bill, introduced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is an attempt to force internet companies to remove illegal content…reports Asian Lite News

    WhatsApp’s head, Will Cathcart, has penned an open letter against the controversial Online Safety Bill. In the letter, Mr Cathcart has addressed the risks that the Online Safety Bill poses to everyone’s privacy and safety.

    In the letter, he urged the government to protect privacy rights and it highlighted the importance of end-to-end encryption as a robust defence against online threats and calls.

    “As end-to-end-encrypted communication services, we urge the UK Government to address the risks that the Online Safety Bill poses to everyone’s privacy and safety. It is not too late to ensure that the Bill aligns with the Government’s stated intention to protect end-to-end encryption and respect the human right to privacy,” the text read.

    He emphasized, “End-to-end encryption is one of the strongest possible defenses against these threats, and as vital institutions become ever more dependent on internet technologies to conduct core operations, the stakes have never been higher.”

    “As currently drafted, the Bill could break end-to-end encryption,opening the door to routine, general and indiscriminate surveillance of personal messages of friends, family members, employees, executives, journalists, human rights activists and even politicians themselves, which would fundamentally undermine everyone’s ability to communicate securely.

    The Bill provides no explicit protection for encryption, and if implemented as written, could empower OFCOM to try to force the proactive scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication services – nullifying the purpose of end-to-end encryption as a result and compromising the privacy of all users,” the letter read.

    The bill, introduced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is an attempt to force internet companies to remove illegal content such as child sexual abuse or terrorism. However, critics including Meta have said scanning for such content would be incompatible with the end-to-end encryption that is common protection offered by messenger apps.

    According to Bloomberg, the bill doesn’t explicitly describe a blocking mechanism but calls for fines of as much as 10% of annual global revenue if companies don’t comply. It also could lead to criminal charges against executives if they don’t provide the regulator Ofcom details on how they run their services upon request.

    WhatsApp, Session, Signal, Element, Threema, Viber and Wire have all signed a letter asking the government to “urgently rethink” the proposed law, according to BBC.

    Last month, Cathcart told reporters that the Online Safety Bill before Parliament could effectively make the service’s privacy features illegal, according to Bloomberg.

    Last month, Signal Foundation’s President Meredith Whittaker told the BBC her messaging service would leave the UK if the Online Safety Bill forced it to weaken its privacy protections.

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  • Cumming returns OBE because of British Empire’s ‘toxic’ record

    Cumming returns OBE because of British Empire’s ‘toxic’ record

    Cumming also expressed his “great gratitude” for the honour in the first place after explaining his reasons for his decision…reports Asian Lite News

    ‘Battle of the Sexes’ star Alan Cumming has handed back his OBE over ‘toxicity’ in the British Empire.

    The actor, 58, was presented with the honour at Buckingham Palace in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2009 for his ‘activism for equal rights for the gay and lesbian community’ in the U.S. but announced recently that he has handed back the award, reports Mirror.co.uk.

    Taking to Twitter on his 58th birthday he wrote: “The Queen’s death and the ensuing conversations about the role of monarchy and especially the way the British Empire profited at the expense (and death) of indigenous peoples across the world really opened my eyes.”

    He further said, quoted by Mirror.co.uk: “Also, thankfully, times and laws in the U.S. have changed, and the great good the award brought to the LGBTQ+ cause back in 2009 is now less potent than the misgivings I have being associated with the toxicity of empire (OBE stands for Officer of the British Empire).”

    The actor told his 479,000 followers he wanted to share with them ‘something I recently did for myself.’ He further quipped: “I’m now back to being plain old Alan Cumming again. Happy birthday to me!”

    Cumming also expressed his “great gratitude” for the honour in the first place after explaining his reasons for his decision.

    He said in 2019 he was proud of starring in the first ever network drama on US television to have a gay leading character, playing Dr Dylan Reinhart in Instinct, which is shown on Sky Witness in the UK.

    Cumming posted a message on Instagram at the time, saying he was proud to have been part of a show in which “millions of people will have seen a same-sex marriage portrayed for the first time”.

    The actor’s roles across stage and screen have ranged from BBC comedy The High Life and playing Hamlet for the English Touring Theatre, to US shows such as the Good Wife and a Broadway version of Cabaret.

    Cumming, who has dual UK and US citizenship, also recently hosted a travel show on Channel 4 with his friend and fellow actor Miriam Margolyes.

    He received an honorary degree from the Open University in 2015, for his contribution to education and culture.

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  • British-Indians win 2022 Young Dentist Award

    British-Indians win 2022 Young Dentist Award

    Shankla, 32, graduated from the University of Birmingham. Her areas of interest are minimally invasive dentistry, treating young children and cosmetic dentistry…reports Asian Lite News

    Seven British-Indians have received the Young Dentist Award in recognition of their excellence in dentistry across the whole of the UK.

    The 2022 Dentistry Awards, feted as ‘dentistry’s biggest party’, took place late last month at The Athena in Leicester.

    While Kiran Shankla and Rohit Keshav Sunil Patel won from the South East, Sorabh Patel and Vishal Patel won from London.

    Viraj Patel and Paavan Chouhan from the North West and Chetan Sharma from Midlands won along with 20 others who were honoured in the Young Dentist award category.

    There were a total of 13 categories in the award, including Dental Laboratory of the Year, Therapist of the Year, Young Dentist, Hygienist of the Year, Dental Nurse of the Year, and more.

    To be considered for the award, the young dentists had to give 750-word answers to a list of questions, provide supporting evidence of their work and their participation in the local community.

    “It’s amazing to be recognised at such a high level. All the hard work and sacrifices made over nine years came down to this one moment,” Kiran Shankla, who works at Wood Lane Dentistry in Berkshire, told Henley Standard.

    Shankla, 32, graduated from the University of Birmingham. Her areas of interest are minimally invasive dentistry, treating young children and cosmetic dentistry.

    “When the awards first started 22 years ago there were just five entries. This year there were over 900 entries,” said James Goolnik, founder of Bow Lane dental group, and one of the long-standing judges of the awards.

    Goolnik noted that the awardees via their practices are giving back more to their local communities, and emphasising more on team approach and training.

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  • Iran issues death threats to British journalists for covering protests

    Iran issues death threats to British journalists for covering protests

    Volant Media said the police force had also notified other journalists of threats…reports Asian Lite News

    Two British-Iranian journalists working in the UK for an independent Farsi-language channel have received “credible” death threats from Iran’s security forces, the channel’s broadcaster said Monday.

    Volant Media, the London-based broadcaster of Iran International TV channel, said in a statement that two of its journalists have received “death threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps”, calling this a “dangerous escalation” of attempts to suppress independent media.

    “These are state-sponsored threats to journalists in the UK,” a spokesman for Volant Media was quoted as saying.

    The Revolutionary Guards “cannot be allowed to silence a free press in the UK”, he added.

    The channel is covering the anti-regime protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini for allegedly breaching strict dress rules for women.

    Volant Media said that two journalists received formal “warnings of credible threats to their lives” and those of their families, from London’s Metropolitan Police.

    Volant Media said the police force had also notified other journalists of threats.

    The Met said that “we do not comment on matters of protective security in relation to any specific individuals”.

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  • Is Sunak’s elevation dividing British Muslims?

    Is Sunak’s elevation dividing British Muslims?

    The committee is also rallying the Muslims to be prepared for elections as it feels general elections in the UK are round the corner…reports Rahul Kumar

    Rishi Sunak’s rise to the top in British politics has come with its share of ‘shock and awe’.

    Sunak became the prime minister of the UK within a month of serious unrest in Leicester — a city of three lakh people known for its inter-community harmony, well, until now.

    The Muslim-Hindu unrest in a tranquil city ruffled Royal feathers besides creating news across the world. A number of independent inquiries are in the offing over the communal clashes.

    Jubilant reactions among Hindus have been documented in detail by the media not just in the UK and India but across the world. Among British Muslims, while some notable personalities have voiced their support for Sunak, influential sections — some with connections with the Left and the Labour Party — have focused on the Prime Minister’s riches, his so-called pronounced Hinduism, his Tory thought as well as foreign policy disposition towards Palestine and India.

    A past interview by Sunak on “grooming gangs” — wherein predominantly Pakistani men have been charged, has been dug out. Sunak is seen promising action on a sensitive race issue which has been buried in the UK due to ‘political correctness’ despite its acute criminality.

    Even as Sunak remains under microscopic scrutiny, a Muslim organisation has been running a campaign against him. The Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPACUK) posted a series of tweets between October 24 to 26 — all criticising Sunak.

    It began on October 24 by saying: “Sunak doesn’t have the support of his own Party’s membership, nor most of his colleagues in Parliament, and definitely not of the country. MPACUK demands a General Election NOW!”

    By October 25 MPACUK said: “Here’s our reasons for why the Muslim community should be dissatisfied with Sunak as PM and released a video on why Rishi Sunak is bad news for Muslims.”

    The committee is also rallying the Muslims to be prepared for elections as it feels general elections in the UK are round the corner.

    A day later the MPACUK released another video saying why Rishi Sunak is “bad news” as Prime Minister of the UK.

    Among the issues it lists, which it thinks makes Sunak ‘bad news for Muslims’ are his Conservative Party thinking, support to Israel, his wife’s ownership of Infosys and that “Rishi Sunak is not the best for Britain let alone for the Muslims here.”

    Despite the MPACUK’s strident anti-Sunak campaign, some constituents have voiced support for Sunak.

    Foremost among them is writer and commentator Wasiq Wasiq who has been battling the anti-Sunak sentiment on social media.

    He was among the few to have clapped his approval for Sunak even before the Indian-origin leader took on the mantle as the Prime Minister.

    Another Muslim figure, researcher and culture writer, Dr Rakib Ehsan has come to Sunak’s defence many a times.

    Ehsan has taken a swipe at the powerful Left-Liberal combine for vilifying Sunak’s elitism and wealthy background. He has also stood his ground over communal attacks on Sunak and defended his policies.

    That Sunak is a practicing Hindu and has been photographed with cows also led to a social media kerfuffle.

    Well known Pakistani writer-in-exile, Ayesha Siddiqa alluded to his Hindu roots while making a confusing comment on his ties with India. Siddiqa said: “He recently went to a cow temple and other signs of support. But there will be pressure on him so not easy to deal with India.”

    Siddiqa’s comment obviously drew sharp comments over the term “cow temple” after which she tried to decry Sunak as not only rich but Hindutva.

    “We are generally weary of owning our own Hindus unless it is to showcase liberalism so what to speak of Richie Sunak who is not just Tory but Hindutva.”

    Sunak’s elevation has caused more than a flutter among the Muslims in Britain.

    Large sections are keeping quiet over the UK’s youngest and first Hindu Prime Minister. Many others are watching his policies from an Islamic point of view while some have already announced that a Hindu Prime Minister is just not going to be right for the Muslims.

    With inter-faith relations under strain after the Leicester violence, the Palestinian issue always on a boil, grooming gang convictions of Pakistani men that keep popping up frequently and a vocal-visible minority Muslim population with assimilation issues, Sunak will have to tread with caution.

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