Report Of Halting Trade Talks With UK "Baseless": Government Sources

Government sources today refuted reports suggesting India has "disengaged" from trade talks with Britain for failing to condemn the Sikh extremist group that attacked the Indian High Commission in London last month. The reports are "baseless", sources said. The UK has also officially denied any such suggestion, and said the "mutually beneficial" Free Trade Agreement is on track.

"Both the UK and India are committed to delivering an ambitious and mutually beneficial FTA and concluded the latest round of trade talks last month," a spokesperson of the UK's Department for Business and Trade said.

"The Foreign Secretary has condemned the recent acts of violence at the Indian High Commission, and we are working with the Metropolitan Police to review security and make changes to ensure the safety of its staff," they added.

The eighth round of trade talks between the UK and India took place from March 20 to 31. Government sources said the next round of official negotiations is likely to take place from April 24 in London.

The rebuttal comes soon after UK-based The Times reported about it on Monday, citing British government sources.

Khalistan sympathisers had on March 19 staged a protest demonstration at the Indian High Commission in London against the massive crackdown on radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is still on the run. They took down the Indian flag from the building's first-floor balcony, prompting the Indian mission to put up an even bigger flag in response.

"Indians don't want to talk about trade until they get a very public demonstration of condemnation of Khalistan extremism in the UK," a Whitehall source had told The Times.

A day after the incident at the Indian mission in London, the foreign ministry had summoned the seniormost diplomat of UK in Delhi. In a sharply worded statement, the ministry demanded an explanation for the "absence of security" at the high commission premises and said the UK government's "indifference" to Indian diplomats and personnel was "unacceptable".

British foreign minister James Cleverly had said the country will review security at the Indian High Commission in London following "unacceptable acts of violence" towards the mission's staff.

According to Reuters, Britain and India have an around 29 billion pound ($35.5 billion) trading relationship, and expanding it is a major part of Britain's Indo-Pacific foreign policy tilt, which aims to enhance ties with the region's fast-growing economies.