Andy Street: West Midlands Mayor mocked for telling Sikhs he’s pleased to visit their ‘mosque’

'I’m sorry I muddled my words,' Conservative tweets in response to criticism

A Tory Mayor has apologised after he called a Sikh temple a “mosque” during a religious festival in Birmingham.

Andy Street, the former managing director of John Lewis, made the gaffe while thanking the local community at the Vaisakhi celebrations on Sunday.

“Brilliant to be able to join the Nagar Kirtan here from the Guru Nanak Mosque in Smethwick,” he told KTV, referring to a procession involving the singing of hymns.

“It’s my opportunity to say a huge thank you to the Sikh community for their brilliant contribution across the West Midlands.”

The Twitter user who posted the original video of his mistake, which has been viewed more than 30,000 times, said she wanted to “show the ignorance”.

“He’s an elected official,” she added. “The standard we judge him against is slightly higher than the average person [because] of the responsibility on his shoulders.”

Others responded with insults, laughter and facepalm emojis, or questioned if he would do the same with a synagogue.

Sikh places of worship are properly called gurdwara, meaning “door to the guru”, although many people refer to them simply as temples.

Mr Street, who used the correct term in an official video posted on his Twitter feed, later admitted his mistake after he was criticised for “lacking diversity understanding”.

The Mayor for the West Midlands tweeted: “All places of worship and festivals of all religions should be respected. I’m sorry I muddled my words.

“I hope no offence was caused, particularly as the Guru Nanak Gurdwara has always offered me a characteristic warm welcome.”

Conservative MP Mike Fabricant offered his support to Mr Street, suggesting the mayor made a “slip of the tongue” because he was tired.

“Like when David Cameron said he supports West Ham when he meant Aston Villa or Jeremy Hunt said his wife was Japanese when he meant Chinese,” Mr Fabricant said.

“When people are tired, they make a slip of the tongue. People understand.”