Starmer urges business leaders to seize opportunities of Indian trade deal

Sir Keir Starmer has urged business leaders to seize the opportunity of the UK’s trade deal with India, after brushing aside suggestions Britain could open up more visa routes for the country.

The Prime Minister has travelled to Mumbai with 125 business chiefs, cultural leaders and university bosses in what Downing Street has dubbed the UK’s largest ever trade mission to the country.

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

Sir Keir told a gathering of business leaders who joined him on the trip: “Our job is to make it easier for you to seize the opportunities.

“On the plane home, I want each of you to tell me what you got out of this trip – a deal, a contact.”

He added: “This is a wonderful opportunity. Let’s go out and seize it.”

Officials are being asked to implement the deal, signed in July, “as soon as humanly possible,” Sir Keir said.

He also suggested the agreement was already having an effect in boosting trade between the two nations.

The Prime Minister had earlier shrugged off suggestions that CEOs who joined him on the journey wanted to see an expansion of visas for skilled Indian workers coming to the UK.

“No, that isn’t part of the plan,” he told reporters, adding the UK was “here now to take advantage of the free trade agreement that we’ve already struck”.

The trade 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.

When Sir Keir meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the visit, the trade deal will not be the only topic of conversation between the two leaders.

Mr Modi’s close relationship with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin could prove a sticking point in their discussions.

Only on Tuesday, Mr Modi wished the Russian leader a happy birthday on social media.

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

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

Britain will continue its efforts to halt Russia’s shadow fleet, Sir Keir added.

Moscow uses the ships to illicitly sell oil and gas on the international market, and Sir Keir said the “most effective way” to pile sanctions pressure on Mr Putin was to target the fleet.

The PM is also facing calls to raise the case of British citizen Jagtar Singh Johal as he meets Mr Modi.

The 38-year-old Sikh activist from Dumbarton in Scotland has been detained by the Indian authorities for nearly eight years, and a UN panel has described his case as arbitrary detention.

The Indian government made every effort to give the Prime Minister a warm welcome upon his arrival in Mumbai at dawn.

Posters and billboards featuring Sir Keir’s face were plastered across the Indian west coast city, bearing welcome messages.

A photograph of Sir Keir shaking hands with Mr Modi – from their meeting at Chequers in July – appeared on hundreds of the huge billboards across the city that greeted the PM’s convoy.

Splashed across bold orange or blue backgrounds, the billboards also featured the message: “Paving the way for a vibrant new era of India-UK partnership.”

Musicians, dancers and street performers in colourful costumes also lined the streets of the city as Sir Keir arrived, including two people dressed as a chicken and a peacock.