Sunak and Modi discuss ‘close friendship’ on phone call as India widens financial probe into BBC

Talks on the same day as authorities in India register a case of foreign exchange violations by BBC

British prime minister Rishi Sunak and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi discussed the “close friendship” between the two countries in a call on Thursday, even as authorities in New Delhi widened the scope of investigation into the BBC.

A readout from the British prime minister’s office said that the two “reflected on the close friendship between the two countries, and agreed great progress was being made on the 2030 UK-India Roadmap”.

Thursday’s talks came on the same day as authorities in India registered a case of alleged foreign exchange violations by the BBC.

Officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a branch of the finance ministry tasked with investigating serious financial crimes, called for documents and recorded the statements of executives in keeping with the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and said the probe was looking into purported violations by related to foreign direct investment (FDI) – a category of cross-border investment.

A BBC spokesperson told The Independent that the broadcaster is cooperating with the probe.

“We will continue to co-operate fully with the Indian authorities to ensure that we comply with all our obligations,” the spokesperson said.

The action came months after India’s tax authorities raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai in February, following a critical BBC documentary on Mr Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

According to the Downing Street, the two leaders also discussed the ongoing negotiations on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and “reflected on the huge opportunities a deal would offer to Indian and British businesses and consumers”.

The deal, which was first committed under Boris Johnson and then under Liz Truss, was expected to be reached by Diwali 2022.

But negotiations were derailed by comments made by Suella Braverman about Indians overstaying their UK visas.

A further setback came after the BBC documentary and subsequent raids described as “surveys” by India’s income tax authorities.

Indian officials told news agency Press Trust of India that during the telephonic conversation Mr Modi raised the issue of security of Indian diplomatic establishments in the UK and called for strong action against anti-India elements.

Mr Sunak “reiterated his condemnation of the unacceptable violence outside the Indian High Commission in London earlier this month”, the statement said, adding that “extremism had no place in the UK”.

He also updated Mr Modi on the steps being taken to ensure the security of Indian High Commission staff.

Earlier this week The Times reported that India reportedly halted trade negotiations with Britain in response to a perceived lack of action from the Sunak government following the protests in March when Khalistan supporters pulled down the Indian flag at the embassy and smashed windows.

The Khalistan movement calls for the creation of a separate homeland for the Sikh community carved out of India’s Punjab state.

Similar protests were also seen outside India’s embassies in the US and Canada in recent weeks.

The protests came amid a nationwide manhunt launched by Indian authorities to arrest the separatist leader Amritpal Singh in Punjab.

India however, denied stalling the talks and called The Times report “baseless.”

The prime minister’s office said that the two leaders looked forward to meeting each other at the G7 in Japan next month, as well as at the G20 in India later this year.

UK government statistics show that the UK-India bilateral trading relationship was worth £34bn in 2022 – growing by £10bn year-on-year.