MEA says British govt apprised over protests outside Indian High Commission, adequate steps taken

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that the matter of recent protests outside the premises of the Indian High Commission in London was taken up with the British government who have ensured to take steps to curtail such incidents in future.

"There were certain incidents which took place. We have taken up the matter again with the British government. This is something that creates difficulty in the workings of the Commission. The British government has ensured that adequate steps are taken so that such incidents are not repeated in future," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a weekly briefing.

"We had apprised the British government on earlier incidents of arson and violence. They should make adequate preparations to ensure that not only the building but also the High Commission remains safe, along with the security of the people inside the building," the spokesperson added.

On Saturday, the eve of Republic Day, a collective of Indian diaspora groups had reportedly called for a march under the banner of "National Demonstration Against Fascism in India" as a mark of protest against the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The Indian diaspora wrote to all the concerned authorities -- from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to the Met Police Commissioner, Cressida to Home Secretary Priti Patel -- to ban the protest in the wake of similar protests on last August, which had turned violent.

Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanshyam also met British Home Secretary Priti Patel before January 26 -- a date when a notice for the protest was served, Kumar noted.

The protests, however, turned out to be peaceful.

Meanwhile, British High Commissioner Dominic Asquith also expressed regret for being unable to curtail the incident.

"I record our regret to prevent any threat to Indian diplomats from violent events that occurred in August last year," he told ANI earlier today.