British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is grappling with another conflict of interest row over a free trade deal with India, which if struck could financially benefit his family, The Guardian reported.
The prime minister’s wife Akshata Murty is the daughter of one of the founders of Indian IT giant Infosys and owns about 0.9% of the company, worth over $60 billion.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Labour’s shadow international trade secretary, on Saturday asked Sunak to be transparent about “any relevant business links and his personal role in negotiations” in the trade deal with India , which is considered as one of the biggest of all agreements that the United Kingdom could sign with other nations following Brexit.
Business and trade select committee chair Darren Jones also told Sunak to be more transparent about his wife’s financial interests, The Guardian reported. “As the prime minister recently learned, it’s important he declares any interests properly,” he said. “I expect him to do so in respect of the India trade deal too.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has urged Jone’s committee against arranging any trip to India to examine issues about the trade deal, according to The Guardian.
“The committee was advised by the government that it would be better to visit India next year instead of during sensitive trade negotiations,” Jones told the newspaper.
The Foreign Office also suggested that it cannot help the committee MPs meet officials and business people in India.
On Friday, Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India hopes to conclude negotiations with the UK soon. Britain’s trade minister Kemi Badenoch, who has been in India over the past few days, told reporters that the deal was in the “final stages”.
Sunak will also visit India in September for the G20 summit. He is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a separate bilateral meeting to discuss the trade deal.
Britain has been keen to strike an agreement that could bring down tariffs on UK exports, including cars and whisky. The import taxes mean that British products can have a much higher price tag in India.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised last year to get close the agreement by Diwali but negotiations have faced hurdles, especially because of British ministers’ refusal to grant more temporary visas to Indian workers.
The Bengaluru-headquartered Infosys is one of the main companies that has sought changes to the UK visa regime but this would mean replacing workers from the European Union with others, The Guardian reported.
“Indian IT companies, including Infosys, are already among the biggest users of the UK’s work visa system,” Alan Manning, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics, told the newspaper. “As the prime minister’s family may have a direct financial interest in any deal on immigration, he should recuse himself from this part of the negotiations to avoid any perception of conflict of interest.”
The development comes after the MPs watchdog on Wednesday said that Sunak had breached the UK Parliament’s code of conduct by not declaring his wife’s shareholding in a childcare company that could benefit from a new government policy.
A key ally of Johnson also resigned on Saturday, telling Sunak that “history will not judge you kindly”.
In her resignation letter, she wrote: “Since you took office a year ago, the country is run by a zombie Parliament where nothing meaningful has happened.”
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