Paul Sabapathy, Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, recieves support after resigning over a series of leaked emails
A Labour MP has stepped forward in support of the Queen’s representative who resigned after a series of his emails were leaked in which he complained about the British Pakistani community.
Paul Sabapathy, Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, is the first non-white person selected to take the role of lord lieutenant. In his leaked email, he stated that Pakistanis require ‘a lot of work’ to be taught ‘common courtesy and civility’.
Supporting the royal aide, MP Khalid Mahmood for Birmingham Perry Barr, has said that he will write to Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen to refuse Paul Sabapathy’s resignation.
“I will be making representations to the palace to urge them to reinstate him,” said Mahmood, who became England’s first Muslim Asian MP in 2001.
Mahmood said Indian-born Sabapathy was an ‘honourable man with noble intentions’ who had been made a scapegoat simply for telling the truth about the Pakistani community in Britain.
The MP suggested that the underachievement of Pakistani children in British schools was down to ‘isolationalism’ in the Pakistani community, and which was progressively getting worse down the generations.
Mahmood insisted that Sabapathy’s only crime was to try to encourage Pakistanis to integrate. “He was trying to move forward and support the community.
“I was going to set up a meeting with the Pakistani high commission to discuss how to get the Pakistani community more integrated – and not in the derogatory manner that’s come out (in the leaked email).”
Paul Sabapathy notified Buckingham Palace of his intention to step down from the role, which he has held for nearly eight years.
A statement from the Palace said: “We understand that Paul Sabapathy has informed the Cabinet Office of his decision to step down from his role as lord lieutenant in the West Midlands.
“The royal household would like to acknowledge the tremendous work done by Mr Sabapathy since his appointment in 2007 to support the work of the Royal Family and to bring together and work with the communities in the West Midlands.”
Mr Sabapathy, who is originally from Chennai, India, was awarded a CBE in 2004 for services to businesses and education in the West Midlands.
