Sikh lawyers: Bloom Review not independent and fundamentally flawed

By Sikh Federation (UK)

Sikhs in Law on Wednesday, 19 July presented their 28-page report on the Bloom Review at the House of Lords.

 They concluded that the Bloom Review represents nothing more than the personal views of Colin Bloom who is not independent given his active role in the Conservative Party and strongly held religious views as a devout Christian.

His references to subversive and extremist activities by Sikhs make absolutely no sense, reveal his bias and are backed up by zero evidence. It is obvious he does not understand these terms from a UK government perspective as Sikhs present no threat.

Colin Bloom has demonstrated he lacks the very ‘faith literacy’ which he recommends those in government should possess by failing to understand the Sikh faith focuses on a ‘way of life’ with an emphasis on practices and traditions.

The Sikhs in Law report states the Bloom Review is fundamentally flawed both in its methodology and in its outcome with respect to the Sikh community.

Preet Kaur Gill as Chair of the APPG for British Sikhs raised a series of Parliamentary Questions on 6 July about the Bloom Review and the response from the Minister on 14 July confirms the way Colin Bloom conducted the review and reached his conclusions was much to be desired.

The Minister has been forced to disclose the number of respondents by faith that reveals a surprising number of responses from the Hindu community compared to all other faiths. There is speculation the BJP Indian Government may have used its right-wing networks to increase the number of negative responses attacking Sikhs that should be investigated.

The Sikhs in Law report is very critical of Chapter 6 on ‘Faith-Based Extremism’ and described the report as ‘not fit for purpose’ as far as it relates to Sikhs.

Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) said, “The Bloom Review expresses the personal opinions of Colin Bloom who was not qualified to conduct the review.

“The Sikhs in Law report highlights Colin Bloom lacked independence and impartiality that totally undermines the credibility of the Bloom Review.

“It is scandalous that Colin Bloom has been allowed to write what he likes and offend Sikhs although there is no evidence to back up his conclusions.

“The Sikhs in Law report underlines the total lack of transparency on how conclusions were reached in the Bloom Review with regards to the Sikh community.”