Rishi Sunak has ruled out handing visas to India as part of a trade deal - but MPs are privately expressing concern that he may later back down on the issue.
The Prime Minister flew to New Delhi last night for the G20 summit, where he will hold talks with Indian prime minsiter Narenda Modi in order to make progress on the proposed trade deal.
Modi had previously been demanding thousands of visas as part of the deal, but a Downing Street spokesperson has said that any deal would solely focus on "trade and business".
While the official said that "Immigration is a separate issue", one Tory MP expressed concerned that the PM may make concessions later on with India.
The Prime Minister flew to New Delhi last night for the G20 summit
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The red wall MP told GB news they are "very worried" about concessions on visas.
They also urged Sunak to make an "immediate returns agreement" for those who arrive in the UK illegally or overstay.
Meanwhile, Brendan Clarke-Smith, MP for Bassetlaw, reiterate to GB News that the economic boost must "be treated as a separate issue to visas", especially "at a time hwen net migration is far too high".
But he was optimistic about the broad strokes of the deal, saying it "would be great news for British businesses and would be a welcome boost to the economy".
Addressing specualtion about visas, Sunak's official spokesman said: “This is a trade deal. It is focused on trade and business.
"The only aspect of the movement of people covered by an FTA is business mobility, which is the temporary movement of business people for specific purposes.
"There are no plans to change our immigration policy to achieve an FTA or this FTA."
Meanwhile, a government insider said the PM will not accept deal that does not work for Britain, in spite of pressure from the Indian government to agree a deal quickly.
They warned: "We’re not going to be bounced into a worse deal because there’s a bit of momentum now."
Sunak's official spokesman said: 'This is a trade deal. It is focused on trade and business.'
|PA
Yesterday, Vikram Doraiswami, India’s High Commissioner in London, appeared to back down on the issue of visas.
He told Times Radio: "We never said that the visas are part of our ask. We are not asking for migrants to be able to come here... we are a net recipient of migration rather than a net centre of migrants."