Labour denied Sikh leader his peerage over “extremist links”

Tuesday 12th January 2021 07:01 EST
 

On Sunday 10th January it was reported that the Labour leader reportedly scrapped plans to give peerage to a leading Sikh independence supporter amid concerns over his alleged “extremist” links.

Following his decision, Keir Starmer  is reportedly facing calls to explain his decision after friends of senior public official Dabinderjit Singh Sidhu insisted it was “complete nonsense” to say he was a fanatic, The Daily Mail reported.

Sir Keir is also being urged to say whether he had bowed to warnings that the Indian government would be furious to see Mr Singh receive the honour. Singh was expected to be one of six new Labour peers announced just before Christmas. But reports note that his nomination was withdrawn on the day of the announcement. Despite Sir Starmer’s withdrawal the House of Lords Appointments Commission, which vets peerages on security service advice, had already approved the nomination.

55-year-old Mr Singh, who is a senior official at the National Audit Office, faced reports in 2008 that he had been a member of the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) which was banned in the UK in 2001 amid Home Office warnings its members were a threat to national security. In 2007, he had reportedly spoken at a Trafalgar Square rally at which another speaker praised terrorism and at which the banners of a separate banned Sikh terror group – Babbar Khalsa – were on open display. That group was implicated in the bombing of an Air India plane off the coast of Ireland with the death of all 329 crew and passengers.

The Sikh Federation in a statement had earlier said, “Our understanding is Keir Starmer recommended Dabinderjit to fill one of the nominations given to the Labour Party by the prime minister. The House of Lords' appointments commission carried out all the necessary checks and concluded weeks ago [that] Dabinderjit was of good standing in the community and had no concerns on his past conduct that would call into question his appointment to the House of Lords as a Labour peer.

“Dabinderjit’s name then went to the prime minister and Buckingham Palace for the formal sign-off. The Formal sign-off had been obtained and the only matter outstanding was a public announcement,” it added.


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