Letwin: appeal to conference

British Sikhs are set to launch a political party setting out the policy priorities of the communirt.

The announcement comes as 10,000 Sikhs gathered in Wolverhampton for the National Sikh Convention.

Whilst the party will not field candidates it will open offices in areas with a high Sikh population.

It wants to raise awareness about the problems faced by the community.

Issues it wants to see addressed include Sikh representation in public life and single faith schools.

"I think for too long Sikhs have been fairly quiet on the issues that matter to them," said Dabinderjit Singh of the Sikh Secretariat.

Whilst three quarters of the UK's 340,000 Sikhs are thought to support Labour the Conservatives are also making a play for their vote.

Addressing the conference shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin was set to say: "Sikhs now constitute one of the most numerous and most economically active ethnic groups in the country; their contribution to business and to many professions is enormous."

Letwin was also set to call for the Commission for Racial Equality to monitor Sikhs as a distinct ethnic group.