Amritsar raid: Government response

Rajiv Popat reports on today's response from the government about the 1984 temple raid in Amritsar. Sikhs across the Midlands say they're left still looking for answers.

Sikhs in the East Midlands say they they're disappointed by the findings of a review into claims that Britain helped India plan a raid on a temple that ended in a massacre thirty years ago.

The Foreign Secretary William Hague has admitted military advice was given to the Indian government ahead of the attack, but he said it only had had 'limited impact'. Sikhs say the review was far from comprehensive.

The Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander, has responded to the government investigation into the 1984 massacre at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, highlighting a responsibility to 'address the widespread fears and concerns' of British Sikh community.

He went on to say that if the Conservative government could provide answers to all of the relevant concerns and questions then 'the opposition will support them'.

Labour's Douglas Alexander has responded to the government investigation into the 1984 massacre at the Golden Tempe in Amritsar, stating "serious questions will continue to be asked."

The shadow foreign secretary Alexander said Labour welcomes what light the Cabinet Secretary's report sheds on the allegations of British involvement in 'Operation Blue Star', but certain elements remain still remain unclear.

"It remains unclear, for example, why the Government has today chosen to publish Mrs Gandhi's letter to Mrs Thatcher, but not Mrs Thatcher's letter to Mrs Gandhi," he said.

"The pain and suffering still felt by many about the tragic events of 1984 places a particular duty on the Government to provide what answers it can to address very genuine concerns," he added.

Leicestershire Sikh Alliance spokesman, Kartar Singh, met with Jon Ashworth MP before the House of Commons statement by William Hague today.

The Foreign Secretary was addressing MP's on British involvement in the 1984 Sri Harmandhir Sahib (Golden Temple) military assault.

Sikhs in the Midlands have been watching the debate closely, and Mr Hague has said he hopes the investigation can provide them with 'reassurance'.

Foreign Secretary William Hague, has said that the UK government is always prepared to take an 'unflinching look at the past' and hopes that the investigation into UK involvment in Operation Bluestar provides 'reassurance' to the Sikh community.

Sikhs in Leicester are watching the government review about alleged British involvement in Operation Bluestar.

A Government investigation concluded that British military advice to the Indian authorities ahead of the Golden Temple raid in 1984 had only a "limited impact" on the operation which resulted in a massacre of Sikh dissidents, Foreign Secretary William Hague told MPs.

Foreign Secretary William Hague has said that a single British military adviser travelled to India to advise the Indian intelligence service ahead of the Golden Temple raid in 1984 that resulted in hundreds of Sikh fatalities.

The adviser suggested a military operation should only be put into place as a last resort, "when all attempts of negotiation had failed, it recommending including in any operation an element of surprise and the use of helicopter," he said.

"This military advice was not repeated. The cabinet secretary found no evidence that any other form of UK assistance, such as equipment or training, was given to the Indian authorities," he said.

"The nature of the UK's assistance was purely advisory," he added.

The investigation was ordered after documents released under the 30-year rule suggested that an SAS officer advised the Indians about how to deal with the Sikh dissidents occupying the site.

The chairman of the Sikh Federation wrote a letter to the Prime Minister in which he said he was "hugely disappointed" by the 1984 Amritsar massacre inquiry's "narrow terms".