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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing fresh scrutiny after a media report alleged that the Indian IT major Infosys was promised help to grow in the country due to the government’s familial connection with co-founder Narayana Murthy. The Opposition Labour Party has claimed that Infosys was effectively granted “VIP access”.
Earlier, a ‘Sunday Mirror’ report claimed that Trade Minister Lord Dominic Johnson discussed the Infosys UK operations in a meeting at the company’s offices in Bengaluru during a visit last April. The details of the meeting were obtained by the British daily through freedom of information (FOI) requests.
A readout of the meeting last year reportedly said Lord Johnson “made clear that he was keen to see a bigger Infosys presence in the UK and would be happy to do what he could to facilitate that”.
“After the Tories handed billions in taxpayers’ cash to cronies for duff PPE (personal protective equipment), the public will wonder why an outfit so personally close to Rishi Sunak appears to have been granted this VIP access. There are serious questions to answer,” Labour’s shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth told the British daily.
It is important to note that Akshata Murty, wife of Rishi Sunak, has a 0.91% stake – previously valued at more than £500m – in Infosys, the IT business co-founded by her father Narayana Murthy and received millions in dividends in the last financial year.
A “steering brief” for the meeting is reported to have said that it “would be good to reassure them on the prospects for the UK economy and remind them of the support that we can provide through DBT [Department for Business and Trade]”, the report said.
This was reinforced in a list of speaking points, one of which said: “We value the relationship with Infosys and will continue to engage at a ministerial level when requested of us.”
Labour suggested Infosys had effectively been granted “VIP access”, reminiscent of the VIP lane through which firms with contacts among Conservative ministers and government figures won lucrative deals to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic.
Lord Johnson is said to have outlined to the Infosys executives, whose names were redacted in the FOI documents, the advantages for the multinational as a result of the UK’s high-potential individual visa scheme.
“The investment minister regularly meets businesses and international investors, including a range of Indian businesses, to champion the UK as an investment destination and secure commitments worth billions of pounds. That engagement drives investment across the UK, creating thousands of high-quality jobs and boosting the UK economy,” said a DBT spokesperson.
The briefing paper for the April 2023 meeting reportedly notes that one of the objectives was to “reassure that the FTA will further create new opportunities and investor-friendly policies to support business growth”.
The controversy is the latest in a series relating to his wife and Infosys engulfing Sunak. In 2022, the personal finances of Sunak and his wife came under scrutiny when it was revealed that Akshata had legal non-domicile tax status, which meant she did not have to pay UK tax on her Indian income. However, after an Opposition furore over this issue, she relinquished her non-dom tax status and said she would pay all her taxes in the UK to prevent the issue from becoming a distraction for her husband’s political career.
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Published: 05 Feb 2024, 06:51 PM IST
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