‘She epitomised service’

Gareth Thomas, Labour MP for Harrow West: The Queen epitomised service, the idea of service to your country. She provided considerable diplomatic skill. And I was made aware of that when I was working as a Foreign Office minister through the number of conversations I had with government ministers around the world who had either met the Queen or knew of the Queen, and valued, what she stood for. It made my job as a minister that little bit easier. She underlined what’s great about this country.

There are a number of ways the Queen supported Asian communities. The Asian community values are family oriented and of hard work. And the Queen embodied and epitomised those values.

She had strong ties with India and Pakistan, and the countries in Africa from which many of the Gujarati community members came. In terms of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, those countries in the Commonwealth have always had a high regard for the Queen. The Queen has met many members of the south Asian communities on her visits to Harrow. They valued her willingness to meet them, so I think she was important for the south Asian communities in that sense.