Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleIndia condemns a security breach during its foreign minister's UK visit, involving a protester tearing the Indian flag. The UK emphasizes its commitment to diplomatic security.
NEW DELHI/LONDON (Reuters) -India condemned on Thursday a security breach during its foreign minister's visit to London when a protester broke through a police cordon, stood in front of the minister's car and tore the Indian flag before being taken away.
India's foreign ministry said it expects Britain to live up to its diplomatic obligations and called the protesters a "small group of separatists and extremists".
Britain said it "strongly condemned" the incident.
A small group of protesters shouting slogans and waving flags of a Sikh separatist movement called Khalistan had gathered outside think tank Chatham House in London on Wednesday where foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was speaking.
Videos posted to social media showed a member from the group breaking away from the police cordon as Jaishankar was leaving the venue, and taken away by police officers within seconds.
Jaishankar is on a six-day trip to Britain and Ireland.
"We deplore the misuse of democratic freedoms by such elements. We expect the host government in such cases to fully live up to their diplomatic obligations," Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Indian foreign ministry, said in a statement.
Britain said it upheld the right to peaceful protest but any attempts to intimidate, threaten or disrupt public events were "completely unacceptable".
"We remain fully committed to ensuring the security of all our diplomatic visitors, in line with our international obligations," a spokesperson for Britain's Foreign Office said.
Police said no arrests had been made.
"(The protester) was quickly intercepted by officers and moved out of the way. He did not get close to the minister who was able to leave the area without further incident," a spokesperson for London's Metropolitan Police said.
The Khalistan movement advocates a separate Sikh homeland carved out of Hindu-majority India and is considered a security threat by the Indian government. It has been a flashpoint in an increasingly tense relationship between Canada and India.
In April 2023, India asked Britain for increased monitoring of UK-based Khalistan supporters after protesters detached the Indian flag from the diplomatic mission's building.
(Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi and Sachin Ravikumar in London, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Richard Chang)
A protester breached security during the visit, breaking through a police cordon and standing in front of the minister as he was leaving.
India condemned the incident, stating that it expects Britain to fulfill its diplomatic obligations and described the protesters as a 'small group of separatists and extremists.'
The UK government strongly condemned the incident, emphasizing the right to peaceful protest while stating that intimidation or disruption of public events is unacceptable.
The Khalistan movement advocates for a separate Sikh homeland from India and is viewed as a security threat by the Indian government.
In April 2023, India requested increased monitoring of UK-based Khalistan supporters after an incident where protesters detached the Indian flag from the diplomatic mission's building.
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