A personal representative of the UK queen has resigned over remarks that British Pakistanis need to learn "civility."

Paul Sabapathy, the queen’s lord lieutenant of the West Midlands, stepped down from his post after saying UK Pakistanis must be taught “basic common courtesy and civility.”

He made the remarks in an email after attending an event at the Pakistan consulate in Birmingham on 14 August to commemorate Pakistan Independence Day, a Guardian report said.

Apparently unhappy about the lack of respect he and colleagues were shown as the queen’s representatives, he said, “Pakistanis are lovely people individually, but there is a lot of work to do to teach them basic common courtesy and civility.”

He went on: “They talk to themselves and do not engage with the wider community. They are living in the UK not Pakistan. Whilst being rightly proud of their Pakistani culture and heritage they need to explain better and engage more with their non-Pakistani brothers and sisters if they want their children to succeed as British Pakistani citizens.”

Sabapathy, who was born in Chennai, India and moved to the UK in 1964, was the first non-white lord lieutenant.

The queen’s lord lieutenants are the representatives of the crown for each county in the United Kingdom. Men or women of all backgrounds, they are appointed by the queen on the advice of the prime minister.

Lord lieutenants were originally appointed in Henry VIII’s reign to take over the military duties of the sheriff and control the military forces of the crown. Nowadays they perform a largely ceremonial function, but are nonetheless expected to uphold the same standards as the reigning monarch.

Sabapathy on Friday issued a statement saying he had decided to stand down and wanted to offer an unreserved apology.

He said: “I wish to apologize unreservedly and wholeheartedly for the offence I have caused to the Pakistani community and others, by the contents of my private email.”