Providing more visas ‘not part of the plan’, says Starmer ahead of India visit

Sir Keir Starmer will resist calls from business leaders to provide more UK visas for Indian workers, the Prime Minister signalled as he travelled to the country on a trade mission.

He said opening up more visas for Indian nationals “isn’t part of the plan”, during his journey to Mumbai with more than 100 business chiefs and university leaders.

India reportedly pushed for far more visa access to the UK when the two countries were finalising their trade deal earlier this year.

But the south Asian nation backed down before the deal was closed by Sir Keir and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in July.

As he flew to India on what the Government dubbed the UK’s largest-ever trade mission to the country, Sir Keir was asked if he would agree to the demands of business leaders joining him on the flight, and widen access to visas for skilled Indian workers.

The Prime Minister told reporters: “No, that isn’t part of the plan. We’re here now to take advantage of the free trade agreement that we’ve already struck. We’ve got to implement it.

“Obviously, I wanted that done at speed. I’ve already sent instructions into the system that I want that done as quickly as possible, but already it’s having an impact, because these businesses want to take advantage of the mood music that’s changed because of the free trade agreement.”

The deal is expected to be worth £4.8 billion each year to the UK’s economy, and could add £2.2 billion collectively to wages.

Among those set to benefit most are Scottish whisky producers, which will see tariffs drop from 150% to 75% and then to 40% over the next 10 years.

New air links between the UK and India have been announced ahead of the trip.

British Airways said it will run a third daily flight between Delhi and Heathrow from 2026, and Manchester Airport will launch a direct route to Delhi operated by IndiGo.

The Prime Minister is joined by 125 chief executives, university leaders and representatives from British cultural institutions during the trip to Mumbai.

The business chiefs include representatives from Rolls-Royce, British Telecom, Diageo, London Stock Exchange and British Airways.

Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha is among the leading cultural figures joining the trip.

Sir Keir wants businesses to use the trade deal as a “launchpad for growth” because it offers vastly reduced Indian tariffs for many UK industries.

The Prime Minister also faced questions about Mr Modi’s close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as he began the trip.

India continues to buy oil from Moscow, despite western nations’ efforts to boycott Russia’s war machine, and Delhi has faced sanctions from US President Donald Trump as a result.

Mr Modi also wished the Russian leader happy birthday in a post on social media on Tuesday.

Asked if he had any leverage to discuss the Indian PM’s relationship with Mr Modi, Sir Keir replied: “Just for the record, I haven’t… sent birthday congratulations to Putin, nor am I going to do so.

“I don’t suppose that comes as a surprise, in relation to energy, and clamping down on Russian energy, our focus as the UK, and we’ve been leading on this, is on the shadow fleet, because we think that’s the most effective way.

“We’ve been one of the lead countries in relation to the shadow fleet, working with other countries.”

The Prime Minister is also facing calls to raise the case of a British national detained abroad with Mr Modi during the visit.

Jagtar Singh Johal, 38, a Sikh activist from Dumbarton near Glasgow, has been detained by the Indian authorities since November 2017.

He was acquitted earlier this year in a case in which he was accused of financially supporting a terror group, but he still faces federal charges from the Indian authorities.

His older brother Gurpreet Singh Johal told the PA new agency that the Prime Minister is “best placed” to advocate for his release, after a series of high-profile cases of Britons detained abroad being resolved.

The Prime Minister last raised Mr Johal’s case with his Indian counterpart when Mr Modi visited the UK in July.