UK Sikh visit to the European Parliament ends in protest

4.50.30pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 9th May 2008

Sarah meets with Sikhs outside the European Parliament

London's Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford yesterday met a delegation from the Sikh Federation UK on their visit to Brussels, although the intended delegation to the European Parliament ended in a frustrated protest outside when, for the third year running, delegates were not allowed to enter the building.

This was supposedly because some were wearing the kirpan (a Sikh ceremonial dagger with religious significance), but delegates not wearing it were also denied entrance to Parliament, apparently because the Parliament's security service is also unsure how to cope with turbans.

Baroness Ludford, a member of the European Parliament's civil liberties and human rights committees, joined with other Liberal Democrat MEPs outside the Parliament in protest, and said:

"This the third year this has happened. The European Parliament - and indeed authorities throughout the EU - really must sort out a consistent policy on how they are going to treat Sikh citizens such that security is observed while Sikh faith and identity is respected. It is not tolerable to exclude and ignore Sikhs in an EU which trumpets its values of diversity and inclusion."

"EU home and interior ministers should get together in dialogue with the European Sikh community and reach an honourable solution which covers both the turban and the kirpan which can then be applied in public buildings and with any necessary adjustments at airports across Europe. The UK government should take a lead, given that the UK has the largest Sikh population in Europe and the Westminster parliament has no problem admitting Sikhs wearing a kirpan."

"After constituents told me about indignities at Brussels airport when security officials insisted on removal of turbans, I wrote to ministers in the Belgian government requesting the use of hand-held scanners as in the UK, but I never had a substantive reply. This issue is not going to go away, and it must be resolved on a basis of equality and non-discrimination."