UK diplomat calls the Golden Temple a mosque, feels sorry later
UK diplomat Simon McDonald calls Golden Temple Mosque A top UK diplomat referred to the Golden Temple as a mosque following which he apologised for the gaffe amid protests by Sikhs. Simon McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, referred to the Golden Temple in Amritsar as the “Golden Mosque” in a tweet on Monday. “At the Queen’s birthday party, presented with picture of The Queen at Golden Mosque in Amritsar in 1997, a permanent memento for Deputy High Commission’s wall,” he tweeted. On realising his mistake, he apologised for the gaffe. The Foreign Office top diplomat said this morning: “I was wrong: I am sorry. I should, of course, have said the Golden Temple or, better, Sri Harmandir Sahib.” “This was a major gaffe by a top civil servant and unacceptable. It demonstrates a remarkable level of ignorance from someone in his position,” said Bhai Amrik Singh, the chairman of the Sikh Federation. “In our view, a public apology and admitting the mistake is not enough. What we need is a commitment from the UK government and senior civil servants to root out such ignorance and discrimination or we will continue to face hate, abuse and threats of violence,” he added. -PTC News
