Newcastle's Hindu Temple celebrates Diwali as the UK welcomes its first Hindu Prime Minister

While Newcastle's Hindu Temple celebrated Diwali with special prayers today, the country welcomed its first Hindu Prime Minister.

Rishi Sunak became leader of the Conservative Party on 24 October after both Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson dropped out of the contest following Liz Truss' resignation.

Mr Sunak has spoken about his faith in the past, and has been seen lighting candles for the festival of light on the steps of Downing Street in the past.

While the Richmond MP became the first Asian and first Hindu Prime Minister, Nayan Vyas from the temple said: "I'm getting goosebumps. As I say there's nobody else that can do what he can do. And I think we know that now."

Mr Sunak lighting candles for Diwali outside Downing Street during lockdown. Credit: PA Images

Something Mr Sunak will be looking to alleviate as Prime Minister is the cost of living crisis, which, the Temple says, has forced some families to scale back on the five-day festival this year.

Mr Vyas added: "This is a very, very important festival. It's celebrated because it's a victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance. It's a huge thing to celebrate all together and there's so many people all around as well.

"It might not be in a bigger scale but smaller, but we celebrate somehow. We might light less lamps but we do it."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.