Ahmedabad-London Air India plane crash last week,<\/a> Britain\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has said.<\/p>\nAt a multi-faith memorial service organised by India House in London on Monday (June 16, 2025), Ms. Rayner was joined by fellow parliamentarians, Foreign Office officials and members of the Indian community as they paid solemn tributes to the lives lost and efforts of rapid deployment teams on the ground.<\/p>\n
The event was marked by spiritual reflections from all major faiths\u00a0as well as floral tributes by the diverse congregation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat struck me over the last few days is that the U.K. and India may be two countries separated by a vast distance, but in the ways that really count we are so very, very close,\u201d Ms. Rayner said in her address at the High Commission of India.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe mark our bond today in a simple and profound way. We grieve together. I’d like to extend my condolences to everybody who’s here today, and beyond the High Commission. The UK is with you and will continue to support you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Air India Flight 171 bound for London Gatwick crashed last Thursday (shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, with all but one of its passengers and crew among the 271 dead, including on-ground fatalities.\u00a0 \t<\/p>\n
The Indian High Commissioner to the U.K., Vikram Doraiswami, expressed his gratitude for the UK\u2019s support through a time of \u201cprofound grief and abiding shock\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tragedy brought home to all of us the suddenness with which life could be extinguished,\u201d said Mr. Doraiswami.<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from a sense of shock and disbelief, we grieve for the 271 lives lost and the many, many more families and friends they leave behind. So many lives that have been deeply and irrevocably affected that it is hard to imagine how anything we may say or do can offer comfort,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The commemorative\u00a0gathering ‘In Everlasting Memory’ coincided with a debate in the House of Commons on the \u2018Air India Plane Crash\u2019, with Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer updating Parliament on the efforts being made to assist British nationals impacted by the tragedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith an Indian diaspora about 2 million strong here in Britain, and with a particularly prominent Gujarati community, we feel the pain of this tragedy together. It reminds us not only of the deep personal ties between our people but of the strength of our partnership with India \u2014 a partnership built on trust, shared values and mutual support in times of crisis,\u201d said Falconer.<\/p>\n
His statement noted the \u201cpain and frustration\u201d felt by families who have not yet been able to lay their loved ones to rest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Indian authorities are working around the clock, with UK support, on this. Unfortunately, these processes take time, but it is important that they are done properly to avoid causing more pain for families,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel pointed to reports of British families claiming a lack of UK leadership and medical teams\u00a0on the ground in India.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast Thursday was a dark, sad and traumatic day for India, the UK and all those affected, wherever they are in the world. I am sure that I speak for the whole House when I say that we stand with them in seeking answers; in working to give them the support that they need; and in mourning the sad deaths of their loved ones,\u201d said the British Gujarati Opposition Conservative MP.<\/p>\n
Mr. Falconer said the Foreign Office teams \u201cwill learn lessons with each step\u201d and that officials had been dispatched to assist British nationals with\u00a0consular assistance in going through the traumatic process at hospitals in Gujarat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe family liaison officers and the consular staff on the ground are trying to stand with British nationals during some of their darkest moments, and their work is very hard,\u201d added Mr. Falconer.<\/p>\n
The ministerial statement also reiterated that the Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had accepted the UK\u2019s offer of help, and a team of British inspectors are now on site.\u00a0 \t\u201cI\u00a0will not comment too much on the ongoing investigation. It will be a complex operation, but I know that our Air Accidents Investigation Branch is among the best in the world and will do everything it can,\u201d added Falconer. <\/p>\n
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