Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Raised Jagtar Singh Johal’s case with Modi: Sunak

The British Sikh campaigner has been detained in India since 2017 charged with having links with a terror network

Raised Jagtar Singh Johal’s case with Modi: Sunak

PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak said he had spoken with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi about the continued detention of a British Sikh human rights campaigner in the south Asian country.

Jagtar Singh Johal was arrested in the northern state of Punjab when he was shopping with his wife in November 2017. The 36-year-old man from Dumbarton in Scotland was in May last year charged with being a member of a terrorist network linked to Sikh nationalism and with conspiracy to murder - for which he could face the death penalty under Indian laws.

Johal claimed innocence and Indian authorities have denied his accusations that he was tortured in prisons.

"The foreign office are continuing to provide support to Mr Johal's family and will continue to do so," Sunak said without elaborating.

Johal's brother and Labour councillor Gurpreet welcomed Sunak’s statement but wondered if the prime minister’s talk would transpire into any meaningful action.

"I am pleased that the prime minister has raised my brother's case with his (Indian) counterpart, but raising (it) is not enough unless he has called for Jagtar's release…,” Gurpreet told the BBC.

Last year, a UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention urged India to release Johal unconditionally and provide him with “an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations” under international laws.

According to the panel, investigators found that his right to a fair trial was “violated”.

Gurpreet said Sunak raised the issue out of compulsion as several MPs had “demanded he do so.”

"I fear that this is just more talk from the UK government and no action,” Gurpreet, who is also a lawyer, said, adding his campaign would continue “until Jagtar is back home in Scotland".

Last year, then-prime minister Boris Johnson had described Johal’s detention as arbitrary and his successor Liz Truss met the family who have been urging the government to secure his release.

More For You

british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less
Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools
Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper in 'Adolescence'
Netflix

Netflix drama Adolescence to be screened in UK schools

THE NETFLIX drama Adolescence will be shown in UK secondary schools as part of efforts to address harmful online influences on young boys, officials announced on Monday.

The show has sparked debate over the impact of toxic and misogynistic content on the internet. Prime minister Keir Starmer met the show's creators, charities, and young people at Downing Street, calling the initiative an important step in starting discussions about the content teenagers are exposed to online.

Keep ReadingShow less