West Midlands Mayor Andy Street called on the Government to issue an official apology for a massacre in India in which hundreds of people were killed.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army fired rifles into a crowd who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab.

The Conservative Mayor said: "It is now time for a formal apology by the British Government as a mark of respect, so that our progressive relationship with India is no longer dampened by this aspect of our past."

Mr Street visited the site of the incident in October last year following a trade visit with the Midlands Engine to Maharashtra.

Those killed had gathered to celebrate a Sikh festival, and Sikhs in particular have been calling for an official apology. The victims also included Muslims and Hindus.

Mr Street said: "A terrible incident took place in Amritsar.

"Many people lost their lives. Families and communities were shattered by the 1650 bullets fired by British troops on innocent civilians.

"When I went to Amritsar in October it was even clearer to me that this incident is a stain on our history, but it was also clear that it should not be forgotten.

"Let us remember this day and the people - 379 Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus who lost their lives. Sir Winston Churchill rightly called it ‘a monstrous event' and David Cameron described it as a ‘deeply shameful event in British history’."

Edgbaston MP Preet Kaur Gill
Edgbaston MP Preet Kaur Gill

Birmingham Edgbaston MP Preet Kaur Gill (Lab) also called for an apology.

She told the House of Commons: "it is clear that there needs to be a formal apology from the United Kingdom Government that accepts and acknowledges their part in the massacre."

Setting out what happened, she said: "Under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, the British Indian Army fired rifles into a crowd of people, who were predominantly Sikhs but also Hindus and Muslims, gathered in Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate Vaisakhi.

"When the firing finally ended, the public place had turned into a garden of the dead. Even children, some as young as three, were not spared.

"It is not enough to condemn the incident and express shame. The UK Government must show respect to the worldwide Sikh community and have the courage to make a full apology for the deeply shameful massacre of innocent, unarmed civilians in Amritsar 100 years ago."

And she said British schools should teach children about the massacre, as well as "the context of the British empire, which through imperialism and colonialism had exploited and subjugated people around the world".

The UK has so far not officially apologised. Prime Minister Theresa May said last week: "We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused.

"The tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh of 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history."

But Amarinder Singh, chief minister of Punjab state, said Mrs May’s words were not enough and called for "an unequivocal official apology".