Liz Truss said she wants to sign a trade deal with India by Diwali later this month. The Indian government is demanding an increase in work and study visas for Indian nationals, and earlier this year Boris Johnson said the deal would lead to an increase in immigration. In an interview with the Spectator, Braverman said Indian migrants make up the largest number of people overstaying their visas in the UK. The home secretary also criticized the deal with India, signed by her predecessor Priti Patel, to increase the number of illegal immigrants and overstayers returned to the country, saying the deal “hasn’t necessarily worked very well”. Home Office statistics show 20,706 Indians overstayed their visas in 2020, higher than any other nationality, although other nationalities recorded a higher overstay rate. Of the 473,600 Indians whose visas were due to expire in the 12 months to March 2020, 452,894 are known to have left, meaning 4.4% of them remained on their visas. Braverman told the Spectator: “I have concerns about having an open border immigration policy with India because I don’t think that’s what people voted for with Brexit.” Asked if she would support a deal if it included more flexibility for students and businesses, she said: “But I have some reservations. Look at immigration to this country – the largest group of people who overstay are Indian immigrants. “We even reached an agreement with the Indian government last year to encourage and facilitate better cooperation on this issue. It didn’t necessarily work very well.” Braverman has already caused alarm in the government by saying on Tuesday that she would aim to reduce net migration to “tens of thousands” – a promise that previous Conservative governments have failed to keep. A senior source said: “Nobody knows why he made those comments. That promise was used time and time again to criticize Theresa May when she was Home Secretary.” Braverman also called for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), while government policy is to operate within the convention. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In a speech to the Conservative party conference on Wednesday, Truss confirmed plans for a streamlined law, which the Prime Minister hopes to introduce before Christmas, to ensure British courts cannot be overruled by the European Court of Justice for human rights in immigration matters. It is designed to prevent the Strasbourg court from intervening to stop deportation flights in the future after it decided to issue an order barring the removal of migrants to Rwanda in June. Truss also confirmed that the government is in negotiations with other countries for deals similar to the one with Rwanda, although Braverman admitted that the policy will not be implemented for months due to the lengthy process of legal challenges.
