Jagtar Singh Johal

Debate between Douglas McAllister and Zubir Ahmed

Thursday 15th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Douglas McAllister]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend’s comments and I will touch on those points during my speech. May I take this opportunity to thank him for his continued and long-standing support and encouragement of me with respect to the fate of my constituent? He never lets a day pass when he does not ask me for an update, and he has shown great solidarity to me and to Jagtar Singh Johal—I thank him for that.

This case has attracted concern from parliamentarians across this House, from human rights organisations, from legal experts and from the United Nations.

[Dr Zubir Ahmed (Glasgow South West) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way, especially as he is getting into the substance of his speech. I want to place on record my appreciation and that of my constituents in Glasgow South West, where there is a large Sikh community, for my hon. Friend’s efforts. He has been tireless since the first day he was elected to this place in trying to secure the release of Jagtar. That resonates very strongly with my constituents in the Sikh community across Glasgow South West.

Does my hon. Friend agree, though, that although we are slowly starting to move in the right direction, there is still deep concern because Jagtar faces the death penalty? The Johal family—which includes friends of mine, such as Gurpreet, who is a local councillor in the west of Scotland—must be filled still with trepidation. Does he further agree that there is also a wider context, whereby someone born in this country—a British citizen, a second-generation Indian—has found himself in this situation, incarcerated for nearly a decade? That sends shivers down the spines of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of people in that situation living in Britain today who would wish to visit India.

[Douglas McAllister]

I agree entirely with my hon. Friend, who makes a powerful point about the ongoing position of my constituent Jagtar Singh Johal. I thank my hon. Friend not only for his intervention, but for his continued support for me and my constituent, Jagtar. He has been unfailing in his commitment, on behalf of Glasgow South West, to demonstrating the ongoing support across the west of Scotland and the nation for securing Jagtar Singh’s safe return home.

In opposition, my party rightly called for Jagtar’s release on the basis that he was arbitrarily detained. It is my hope that through effective diplomacy, we will be able to deliver that outcome. Above all, this case has deeply affected Jagtar’s family in Dumbarton, who have spent nearly a decade fighting for justice and searching for answers.