An urgent inquiry was today under way after papers released under the 30 year rule appeared to expose British involvement in the 1984 massacre at Amritsar.
David Cameron ordered the Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood to establish “as quickly as possible” whether an SAS officer drew up a plan for troops to attack the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine, to remove militants.
Downing Street revealed the inquiry will also cover “the decision to release the papers”, fuelling fears that a huge Whitehall blunder led to the disclosures.
Thousands died in the Amritsar battle, sparking repercussions that led to the assassination of Indian premier Indira Gandhi.
The key document is a letter by former diplomat Brian Fall - the father of Mr Cameron’s close aide Kate Fall - that said the Indian authorities “sought British advice over a plan to remove Sikh extremists from the Golden Temple”. It was “favourably” answered and a plan drawn up by a visiting SAS officer with the approval of Lady Thatcher, the then Prime Minister.
The importance of the papers appears not to have been noticed by the official machine, but was spotted by Labour MP Tom Watson.
