LONDON mayor Sadiq Khan said the British government should apologise for a colonial-era massacre in India as he visited the site this morning (6).
British troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protesters in the city of Amritsar in Punjab, north India, in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, leaving 1,000 dead.
David Cameron described it as deeply shameful when the prime minister visited the memorial in Punjab during a 2013 trip to India, but stopped short of an apology.
Writing in the visitors' book, Khan said it had been "incredibly moving" to see the site of the massacre, calling it a tragedy that should never be forgotten.
"It is time for the British government to finally apologise," he wrote. "Our thoughts are with all those who died."
Colonial-era records show about 400 people died when soldiers opened fire on men, women and children in the enclosed area, but Indian figures put the toll at closer to 1,000.
In 1997, the Queen laid a wreath at Jallianwala Bagh during a tour of India. But Prince Philip reportedly said the Indian estimates for the death count were "vastly exaggerated".
Khan, the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver in London, also laid a wreath at a memorial to the victims.
Earlier in the day he visited the Golden Temple, the most revered place for the Sikh religion, where he covered his head with a white cloth and sat cross-legged on the floor to eat at the community kitchen.
Khan later entered Pakistan via the Wagah border crossing.
He reaffirmed his commitment to create a war memorial in central London to honour the Sikh servicemen and women who fought alongside British troops in the First and Second World Wars.
“Britain and the world owe a huge debt to the Sikh servicemen and women who fought alongside British troops during the First and Second World Wars,” Khan said.
“These brave individuals sacrificed an enormous amount to defend the freedoms that we enjoy today and it is only right that there is a memorial in our capital city to honour the Sikhs who fought to preserve our freedoms,” he added.
FILE PHOTO: A general view shows British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, in Scunthorpe, northern England, Britain, March 31, 2025. REUTERS/Dominic Lipinski
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. (Representational image: iStock)
FBU chief raises concern over rise in racist online posts by union members
THE FIRE Brigades Union (FBU) and other trade unions are increasingly concerned about a rise in racist and bigoted online comments by their own members and officials, according to Steve Wright, the FBU’s new general secretary, speaking to the Guardian.
Wright said internal inquiries have revealed dozens of cases involving members using racist slurs or stereotypes, often aimed at asylum seekers.
He said similar issues were reported in other unions, prompting a joint campaign to counter false narratives around immigration and race promoted by far-right groups online.
“People with far-right views are becoming more brazen in what they do on social media, and I’ve witnessed it with my own union around disciplinary cases and the rhetoric of some of our own members,” Wright said to the newspaper.
He added, “Some of our members and sometimes our reps have openly made comments which are racist and bigoted. In my time in the fire service, that has gone up.”
The FBU is planning to introduce new internal policies and wants the TUC to take action as well. A formal statement addressing far-right narratives will be launched at the union’s annual conference in Blackpool next month.
Wright cited the influence of social media and figures like Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as factors contributing to these incidents. “It feels like an itch that we’ve got to scratch,” he said.
The FBU barred a former official last year for allegedly endorsing racist content on X, including posts from Britain First and Tommy Robinson.
Wright also warned that the union could strike if the government moves to cut frontline fire services.