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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58930593 Conservative MP Sir David Amess has died after being stabbed multiple times at his constituency surgery in Essex. Police said a 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder after the attack at a church in Leigh-on-Sea. They recovered a knife and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. A counter terrorism team will lead the investigation. Boris Johnson has spoken of his shock and sadness at the loss of "one of the kindest" people in politics. Home Secretary Priti Patel has asked all police forces to review security arrangements for MPs "with immediate effect", a Home Office spokesman said. Sir David, 69, had been an MP since 1983 and was married with five children. He is the second serving MP to be killed in the past five years, following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016. She was killed outside a library in Birstall, West Yorkshire, where she was due to hold a constituency surgery. The investigation into the attack will be led by the Metropolitan Police's specialist Counter Terrorism Command, who will determine whether it was a terrorist incident. The prime minister said Sir David had an "outstanding record of passing laws to help the most vulnerable". "David was a man who believed passionately in this country and in its future. We've lost today a fine public servant and a much-loved friend and colleague," said Mr Johnson. Ms Patel said the killing "represents a senseless attack on democracy itself", adding that "questions are rightly being asked about the safety of our country's elected representatives". Sir David, who represented Southend West, was holding a constituency surgery - where voters can meet their MP and discuss concerns - at Belfairs Methodist Church in Eastwood Road North. Essex Police Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said they received reports of a stabbing shortly after 12:05 BST and within minutes, officers found Sir David with multiple injuries. Police and paramedics "worked extremely hard" to save him but he died at the scene, Mr Harrington said. IMAGE SOURCE,ANTHONY FITCH Image caption,Armed police were seen outside the church where Sir David met consituents Police have appealed for anyone who saw the attack, or who has footage from CCTV, dash cams or video doorbell to contact them. Southend councillor John Lamb told the BBC that Sir David moved his surgeries to different locations around the constituency "to meet the people" and said the attack was "absolutely dreadful". "We've lost a very good, hard working constituency MP who worked for everyone," he said. Who was Sir David Amess? A Conservative backbencher for nearly forty years, Sir David entered Parliament in 1983 as the MP for Basildon. He held the seat in 1992, but switched to nearby Southend West at the 1997 election. Raised as a Roman Catholic, he was known politically as a social conservative and as a prominent campaigner against abortion and on animal welfare issues. He was also known for his championing of Southend, including a long-running campaign to win city status for the town.

Could Labour Party have not chosen a better female, Bangladeshi candidate to represent the constituency? She seems quite incompetent, more so than many MP's ? ! https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/national/19470166.labour-mp-trial-housing-fraud-weeps-describes-fleeing-family-home/ Labour MP on trial for housing fraud weeps as she describes fleeing family home By Press Association 2021 26th July Apsana Begum A Labour MP accused of housing fraud wept in court as she described the “traumatic” moment she called police and fled her family home after an argument with her brother during which he claimed she was possessed. Apsana Begum, 31, who is on trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, said she went to a police station on May 21 2013 out of fear she could become the victim of honour-based violence after her brother followed her to work. On the same day, the Poplar and Limehouse MP said an argument erupted at her family home in east London when her brother locked her in the living room. She said: “He told me he wanted me to see an imam because I wasn’t registering their concern about (her partner) Ehtashamul (Haque). “He thought I was possessed and said he wanted me to get checked. “I refused and said I’m not under a spell, this is my choice and I just wanted them to support me. But he started reciting the Koran. He had his hand over my head. “I started shouting for my mum but she wasn’t responding. I didn’t know what was going to happen next. “I thought he might beat me up.” Begum said she managed to call 999 and when officers arrived she fled with only her handbag. A court clerk passed Begum tissues as she said she had to collect her belongings which her family had placed in black bin bags outside their house on Woodstock Terrace. Giving evidence on Monday wearing a white shirt and grey headscarf, Begum told the jury her Bangladeshi-heritage family disapproved of her relationship with Mr Haque, who is now a Tower Hamlets councillor. Begum met Mr Haque while doing a community leadership post-graduate diploma. He was seven years older and had been married twice before, and her family did not see him as a suitable match for her. She denies three counts of housing fraud for allegedly withholding information about her living circumstances to jump the queue for a council house between January 2013 and March 2016. Tower Hamlets Council, which is bringing the prosecution, alleged it cost the local authority £63,928. Begum is accused of not notifying the council that she was no longer living in overcrowded accommodation – as she claimed when she applied for social housing – after she moved in with Mr Haque. She claims she rang the council to notify it for council tax purposes and believed it would share the information. She said it was a period of “turmoil” due to the breakdown of her relationship with her family and having lost her father months before. Begum also claims Mr Haque was “controlling and coercive” and had taken over her “matters and affairs”. “We had started a new life together – it wasn’t easy but it’s what we had chosen. He said he would tell everyone,” she added. During an interview with the council’s fraud investigations team on January 21 2020, a transcript of which was read out in court, she said: “I was going through a lot of turmoil at the time, escaping from an abusive situation and later on realising he (Mr Haque) was very, very abusive. “He told me he was handling my matters and affairs. He had my details, bank details, he was making transfers and all that.” In response to evidence that her account had been making bids for houses while she was known to be living with Mr Haque, she denied making the bids and said: “I’m shocked to see these records.” Asked if the bids could have been made by Mr Haque, Begum said: “It must have been him. He had access to the accounts.” Last week, Begum’s defence lawyer Helen Law said investigators failed to “join the dots”, including that the complaint about her applications in 2019 was made by a relative of Mr Haque, Sayed Nahid Uddin. She said she split with Mr Haque after he cheated on her in mid-2016. She added that she had also become concerned that he had a drinking problem. In November 2016, Begum called police to report that Mr Haque had been following her from her workplace in his car, after constantly calling and texting her. The prosecution says Begum attempted to gain social housing at first by claiming she lived in an overcrowded three-bedroom house with her family and did not have a bedroom of her own, which made her a higher priority in the queue. However, according to a social housing application made in 2009 by Begum’s aunt, the house had four bedrooms. Begum insists there were only three when she lived there. Prosecutor James Marsland claimed she “must have had a good understanding of the social housing system and how it operated” because she worked for Tower Hamlets Homes (THH), a public organisation working with the council to arrange social housing, between October 28 2013 and August 3 2016. The MP, who sits on the Commons Education Committee, entered Parliament with a 28,904 majority in the 2019 election.

Cannot post the article as site won't let me, it's from October Read more at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/78581067.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst Alternative link Online petition against Cllr Kamaljit Chana over Islamophobia By Adam Shaw @adamshaw41Local democracy reporter Cllr Kamaljit Chana https://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/18762459.online-petition-cllr-kamaljit-chana-islamophobia/ More than 6,000 people have signed an online petition calling on the Conservative Party to “take action” against a councillor who made Islamophobic comments. The petition, launched on change.org, asks Harrow Council and the borough’s Conservative Group to “expel” Pinner South ward councillor Kamaljit Chana from their organisations. As part of an employment tribunal against Dyson Technologies LTD, Cllr Chana, who worked as a senior technical project manager, was found to have made a string of offensive comments, including calling Muslims “violent”, discussing 9/11 and terrorism, and suggesting “Pakistani men are grooming our girls”. The case, heard by the Bristol Employment Tribunal, found in favour of an ex-Dyson employee, who resigned in 2018. The petition suggested Cllr Chana broke Harrow Council’s councillors’ code of conduct with his comments and called for an immediate investigation. It also urged the Conservative Party to “do more to stamp out all forms of discrimination as discrimination of any type cannot be tolerated in any part of society let alone from those who represent us as public servants”. The campaign follows condemnation of Cllr Chana’s actions from the Labour Party in Harrow and the Muslim Forum of Middlesex. Cllr Graham Henson, leader of Harrow Council, said: “I and the entire Labour Group believe that Islamophobia or any other form of discrimination has no place in Harrow. “We have raised (this issue) with the council’s legal officer, who will investigate as part of the councillor standards and complaints procedure.” And a letter from the Muslim Forum pointed out the incident was particularly upsetting given Harrow’s position as one of the most diverse areas in the UK. The Harrow Conservative Group said: “The first we heard of these allegations and the Tribunal decision was on Sunday morning (September 20) from reading the Sunday Times. “We take these allegations extremely seriously, we are investigating them and following due process. We will not hesitate to take firm action accordingly. We await publication of the tribunal judgement and we will scrutinise the ruling.” Following the result of the tribunal, Cllr Chana said he hopes Dyson consider an appeal, however, there is no evidence to suggest one will be lodged. He said: “As a British citizen, I expect everyone to follow the British values. This includes having mutual respect & tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. “There were discussions about factual news events which took place at that time. “I do not accept the behaviour of those who aim to destroy British values, via calculated horrendous events. Nor do I accept any support shown towards those who commit such acts. “My comments were not about whole community groups. This would be entirely unjust.” Dyson’s Automotive Function closed over a year ago and Dyson’s promotion process and internal HR processes were not found to be discriminatory by the tribunal. Dyson says that its internal disciplinary procedure upheld the discriminatory allegations made, except for the allegation of the anti-Muslim conversations. A year later, the Islamophobia was brought up to HR and serious disciplinary sanction, short of dismissal, was issued to Kamaljit Chana at the time in relation to bullying.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-mp-sikh-turban-racist-general-election-philip-dunne-kuldip-sahota-ludlow-a9222776.html Recent old news A former Tory minister has been forced to apologise after telling his Sikh rival he was "talking through his turban" during an election debate. Labour has called for Philip Dunne to be sacked as a Conservative candidate in the upcoming poll over "disgusting, racist" remarks to opponent Kuldip Sahota at a hustings in his Ludlow constituency on Wednesday. Mr Sahota said the comments were reminiscent of the kind of racism he suffered in the 1970s and called for a probe into Mr Dunne, who previously held frontbench roles in health and defence.

WaheguruJiKaKhalsaWaheguruJiKiFateh! Quebec's Sikhs need your help! Bill 21 bans all public sector employees like teachers, police, and lawyers from wearing any religious symbols. This means that Sikhs can not work while wearing their Dastar, Kara, or Kirpan. This law cannot be struck down by a judge for its violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms due to the Quebec provincial government's use of the notwithstanding clause. The Federal government is capable of repealing the law (disallowment) but they will only do so if the public forces them to. Disallowment can also only happen within 1 year of the bill's passing. Time is running out. Every Sikh in Canada needs to contact their Member of Parliament through email and phone to say that this law violates human rights and needs to be repealed. Bill 21 Awareness Resources In this link, multiple documents to spread awareness are attached. The word document for the small flyers can be printed black and white, double sided, and cut into four. You can add in your MP's information before printing, or just print it as is if your area has multiple MPs. Everything helps. Please hand them out at your local Gurdwara and other public places. To find your MP and their contact information, use this link: Find your MP Make sure to use your postal code for the search. If you use your city name you might end up with the wrong MP. The poster is attached as word, pdf, and jpg. It should be put up in all local Gurdwaras and other public places. Share the jpg and have it displayed on any TV screens. The announcement document can be changed to Punjabi font and given to people to make announcements at Gurdwaras. Announcements need to be made multiple times everyday. Anyone is welcome to modify anything if it needs improvement. Please sign the WSO petition: WSO Quebec Petition The response of Canadian Sikhs has been disappointing and weak. It is as if we don't care that the Sikhs of Quebec lost a lot of careers. There are about 500 000 Sikhs in Canada. That petition should have more than 500 000 signatures by now. If all Sikhs had recognized their duty to the Panth, then that would have been the case. Instead, there are, at this point, only about 2000. We should be ashamed. Take initiative to contact your MP and sign the petition. Take initiative to make everyone else in your family, Sangat, and community contact your MP, by email and phone, and sign the petition. If you don't do it, no one else will. If you are lazy now, then what face will you show to Guru Sahib? Think about it carefully. If we fail to put enough pressure on the Federal government, then they will not use their disallowment powers. And when 1 year passes, it will be too late and the only hope then will be for a new Quebec provincial government that is willing to change the law to be elected. This is unlikely due to the number of imbeciles in Quebec that are racist or don't recognize the human right to practice one's religion. So disallowment is the best hope that we have. Do not let the Sikhs of Quebec down; help in any way that you can!

As the question in the title states, what's the reason? Considering that both countries have roughly the same population (Canada does have a slight edge on the UK), why aren't we seeing as many Sikh politicians in the UK as we do in Canada?