A series of emails by the Queen’s representative, allegedly containing controversial content pertaining to Britain’s Pakistani community were leaked in England; resulting in his resignation.
An email quotes the lord lieutenant for the West Midlands, Paul Sabapathy, stating that Pakistanis require ‘a lot of work’ to be taught ‘common courtesy and civility.’
The first non-white person to be recruited as the lord lieutenant, Sabapathy’s duty was to uphold the dignity of the Crown. However, soon after the representative attended an event in Birmingham in respect of Pakistan’s Independence Day on August 14, he wrote an email which read:
Pakistanis “talk to themselves and do not engage with the wider community. They are living in the UK not Pakistan.”
Further, his email reportedly stated that in his opinion, Pakistanis need to communicate with people outside their community for their children to succeed in Britain.
“Whilst being rightly proud of their Pakistani culture and heritage they need to explain better and engage more with their non-Pakistani brothers and sisters if they want their children to succeed as British Pakistani citizens.”
Sabapathy moved to Britain from Chennai, India and served the Buckingham Palace for about eight years after becoming qualified as a chartered management accountant.
Acknowledging his resignation, the Palace issued a statement “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,” it added.
