Politics latest news: Rishi Sunak hails 'special' visit to India ahead of G20 summit

Rishi Sunak has just arrived in Delhi, India, to attend the G20 summit this weekend. 

Britain’s deal to rejoin the Horizon research programme could pave the way for a new migration agreement with the European Union.

Officials believe the improving relations between London and Brussels could be harnessed to negotiate a new partnership with Frontex, the EU’s border force, to help stem the flow of small boat crossings.

An animal and plant health deal to cut border checks is also in the sights of British negotiators after they wrapped up talks over the EU’s £81 billion science programme.

You can read the full story here.

Shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband said ministers should be “hanging their heads in shame”, after no new offshore wind farms were commissioned in a key Government auction (see the post below at 08.25). 

The Labour frontbencher told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the confirmation was an “absolute disaster for Britain”.

He said: “It’s an absolute condemnation of the Government’s energy policy. They’re trashing the crown jewels of our energy system, and it was all totally avoidable, because for month after month, the government was warned by industry that unless they adjusted the auction price, this would happen or something like this would happen, and indeed it has transpired.

“The Government is totally culpable here and they should be hanging their heads in shame.”

Major wind farm builders have shunned a government auction of contracts to build new offshore fields in a blow for Rishi Sunak and the net zero drive. 

No companies decided to bid for any of the seven available new contracts to build massive offshore wind farms around Britain. 

Many complained that the maximum price set for what they would be allowed to charge for the electricity they produced was too low.

You can follow the latest updates on this story over on The Telegraph’s business live blog here. 

The Foreign Secretary was unable to say whether a UK-India free trade deal will be completed before the next general election. 

James Cleverly said the UK would not “rush it through to hit an arbitrary target” and any deal must be “mutually beneficial”. 

Asked if a deal will be done before the next election, Mr Cleverly told Sky News: “We have always said we want to get the right trade deal with India because it is an incredibly important partner, not just rush it through to hit an arbitrary target.” 

Asked again if a deal will be agreed before the election, widely expected to take place next year, Mr Cleverly said: “Of course we want one and we seek to resolve it as quickly as possible, as long as it is a properly mutually beneficial trade deal.”

James Cleverly said “big wins” on tackling climate change do not always happen “quickly” and suggested the UK must be “patient” with countries like China and India when it comes to tackling harmful emissions. 

It was suggested to the Foreign Secretary during an interview on Sky News this morning that little progress appeared to have been made by the likes of China and India on climate issues since the UK hosted the Cop26 summit in Glasgow in 2021. 

Mr Cleverly replied: “You don’t always get the big wins quickly. This is why we have to be, to a degree, patient but also absolutely committed to this. 

“We will keep discussing these issues with China, it was one of the topics of conversation when I went to Beijing… and the Prime Minister will of course bring this up at the G20. 

“And we are going to demonstrate how you can have economic growth and reduce carbon emissions, just as we have done in the UK.” 

The Prime Minister has refused to offer more work and student visas to India in order to secure a free trade deal with the country.

Rishi Sunak is en route to Delhi this morning to attend the G20 summit, where he will hold talks with Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, during his first visit to India since entering Downing Street.

It is understood that Mr Modi’s negotiators had previously been demanding more visas for nurses and IT professionals as the price of a deal with the UK.

However, a No 10 spokesman insisted that any free trade agreement would only focus on “trade and business”, adding: “Immigration is a separate issue.”

The move will be seen as a victory for Tory backbenchers on the Right of the party, who had feared the Government was preparing to offer major concessions on visas – a move opposed by Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary – amid ballooning levels of net migration.

You can read the full story here.

Rishi Sunak has vowed to “call out” Russia at the G20 for the “suffering” it is inflicting on Ukrainians and millions of the world’s poorest people.

Speaking on the plane to India overnight, the Prime Minister criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin for refusing to attend the G20 summit in Delhi – the second year in a row he has missed the world leaders’ gathering.

Mr Putin has sent foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to Delhi in his absence.

Mr Sunak said the Russian leader was steering clear of confrontation with the West following his invasion of Ukraine because he “doesn’t want to be held accountable”.

The PM said he intends to highlight the impact that Moscow’s decision to collapse the Black Sea Grain Initiative is having on developing nations, which rely on cheap grain from Ukraine for food.

Rishi Sunak has described his first trip to India as Prime Minister as a “special” moment, as he pointed to descriptions of him as “India’s son-in-law”.

Speaking on a flight to Delhi ahead of the G20 summit, the Prime Minister said the country was “very near and dear to me”. He added that he was “excited” to return with his wife Akshata Murty having paused his annual trips to India when he became Chancellor.

Mr Sunak is the first British Prime Minister of Indian descent and Narendra Modi has suggested that he is as an example of the “living bridge” between the two nations.

Speaking on the flight to Delhi last night, Mr Sunak said: “Of course it’s special, I’ll be visiting a country that is very near and dear to me. I haven’t been back for a few years.

“I was meant to go actually in 2020 - we take our family typically in February half term every year - and I got made Chancellor right before and I didn’t get to go with the rest of my family then so I haven’t been for a little while. It’s obviously special. 

“I saw somewhere that I was referred to as India’s son-in-law, which I hope was meant affectionately. But look I’m excited to be back. It’s nice to have Akshata with me as well.”