Political commentator Katie Hopkins has criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan and his office for failing to clean up the area surrounding the Indian High Commission two days after being attacked by protestors.
On Tuesday, an estimated 20,000 people amassed outside the Indian High Commission in protest at the revocation of Article 370 by the Indian government. The repeal of Article 370 on August 5 removed the special status of the Kashmir region as part of an effort by the Modi government to normalise its relationship within the Republic of India.
The protest quickly turned violent as the protestors threw eggs and stones at the High Commission. The projectiles smashed the windows of the embassy, but the police reported no arrests.
Hopkins turned up outside the High Commission on Thursday – two days after the event to find the building still covered in detritus.
The Indian Embassy in London – one of our greatest allies – is a filthy mess of eggs and vandalised windows at the hands of Pakistani protesters in the U.K.
Is the Muslim Mayor of London enabling this behaviour?
Why has this not been cleaned up?
Deeply shaming for Britain pic.twitter.com/GrH1bRwjdH
— Katie Hopkins (@KTHopkins) September 5, 2019
The failure of the local authority to clean up the building’s facade on one of London’s most prestigious streets led Hopkins to accuse Khan of “enabling this kind of protest” through his inaction.
The Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam met with a representative of the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office where the High Commissioner discussed her concerns. The High Commission reported that the UK representative considered the attack to be “completely unacceptable” and that “the safety and security of all diplomatic missions and their staff are of utmost concern to [the] UK.”
This was the second protest outside the High Commission since the revocation of Article 370 in early August and more are predicted to be arranged.
It is unclear if the Mayor of London’s Office or the UK government intend to step up security surrounding the High Commission in the meantime.
