Boris Johnson makes India trade deal progress, but does not push Modi on Putin

Boris Johnson achieved progress on a post-Brexit trade deal with India but failed to apply pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stand up to Vladimir Putin.

The Prime Minister told negotiators to get a free trade agreement done by Diwali, in October, as he celebrated a “massive push” during the their meeting in New Delhi on Friday.

But he accepted he did not try to encourage Mr Modi to go further in dropping India’s neutrality over the Russian President’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Johnson’s two-day trip was dogged by questions over the deepening partygate scandal, with a Tory rebellion leading to a Commons investigation being opened into his alleged lying.

But he insisted he would still be Prime Minister by Diwali, on October 24, which he set as a date for trade deal negotiators to “get it done”.