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PRESS RELEASE : MI5 issues guidance on countering espionage and interference [October 2025]

The press release issued by the Home Office on 13 October 2025.

MI5’s National Protective Security Authority issues new security guidance to protect democratic institutions from espionage and foreign interference.

MI5’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) has today published new guidance to help protect the UK’s democratic institutions from foreign interference and espionage threats.

The guidance outlines how state backed actors and their proxies attempt to manipulate, discredit or secretly gather information on political figures at all levels. This is done often through subtle and deceptive means that blur the line between legitimate engagement and malign activity.

The guidance is designed to help MPs, peers, councillors, Parliamentary staff and candidates understand the threat and take simple, effective steps to protect themselves, their teams, and the integrity of the UK’s democracy.

While the guidance highlights that the UK is a target of strategic foreign interference and espionage from elements of the Russian, Chinese and Iranian states, it takes an actor-agnostic approach, focusing on the behaviours, methods and warning signs that should raise red flags, regardless of where the threat originates from.

Minister for Cabinet Office and Home Office, Dan Jarvis, said:

I urge anyone working in government, public service or politics to be alert and trust their instincts if something does not feel right, and follow NPSA’s guidance. Foreign intelligence officers frequently operate covertly and exploit professional networking sites and personal vulnerabilities to build influence.

This new guidance builds on the work we are already doing to tackle these issues. Those engaging in political influence on behalf of foreign powers must register under the Foreign Influence Registration scheme, as Parliament and the public have a right to know who is seeking to influence political outcomes, and in whose interests.

Elected representatives and those who work with them may be targeted for their access to information, their ability to shape policy or public opinion, or their relationships with others of interest. This includes not only classified material but also privileged or insider knowledge that foreign intelligence services find valuable. This could be through attempts to exploit overseas travel, online activity, and financial donations as routes to access and influence.

MI5 Director General, Sir Ken McCallum, said:

When foreign states steal vital UK information or manipulate our democratic processes they don’t just damage our security in the short-term, they erode the foundations of our sovereignty and ability to protect our citizens’ interests.

Everyone reading this guidance cares deeply about the role they play in UK democracy. Take action today to protect it – and yourself.

We have seen previous cases of political interference, including most recently the case of the former Member of the European Parliament, Nathan Gill, and previously Christine Lee, a lawyer who was working in coordination with an arm of the Chinese Communist Party.

The guidance details key threat behaviours, including cultivation through long-term relationship building, blackmail, phishing attacks and disinformation activity.

We encourage individuals to trust their instincts, remain alert to subtle changes in behaviour or intent, and report any suspicious interactions – however apparently minor – to their security teams.

Engagement will now take place across Parliament, devolved administrations and local government.

October 16, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Mayors and councillors to access LGPS under reforms [October 2025]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 13 October 2025.

The Local Government Pension Scheme is one of the largest pension schemes in the world, with over 6.7 million members and £400 billion of assets.

Ministers are consulting on restoring access to the Local Government Pension Scheme for councillors in England and extending it to mayors.

The proposed reforms would align England with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland where elected members already have access.

The proposals will show locally elected leaders the respect they deserve as dedicated public servants. This comes as local government reorganisation and devolution continue to reshape councils across England, the responsibilities held by mayors and councillors are expanding significantly.

Other measures being consulted on include:
- Making it simpler for Multi-Academy Trusts to apply for their staff from different schools to be in the same pension fund;
- Implementing new Fair Deal protections ensuring workers outsourced from local government keep seamless access to the Local Government Pension Scheme.
The LGPS is one of the largest pension schemes in the world, with over 6.7 million members and £400 billion of assets under management. The scheme serves those who work in local government including waste collectors, school staff including teaching assistants and dinner ladies, library managers and parks workers.

The consultation follows earlier reforms announced by the government this year focusing on investment pooling and local investment, designed to unlock the scheme’s full investment potential as it approaches £1 trillion in assets by 2030.

The consultation will run until December 22.
October 16, 2025
NEWS STORY : Kinnock Pledges “Fairer Funding, Fewer Barriers” for GPs in Strong Address at RCGP Conference

STORY

In a speech delivered at the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) annual conference in Newport, Care Minister Stephen Kinnock laid out a forceful agenda aimed at restoring general practice and tackling stark inequalities in health.

Kinnock described general practice as the “front door to the NHS,” noting how poor health in deprived communities manifests as missed school days, reduced work capacity, and entrenched generational disadvantage. He said closing the health gap, such as the ten-year life expectancy difference between children born in Blackpool and Hampshire, must become a national priority.

To address this, Kinnock announced a review of the Carr-Hill funding formula through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, designed to better direct resources toward overburdened practices, particularly in disadvantaged areas.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to boosting general practice capacity, highlighting an additional £1.1 billion investment in primary care and above-inflation pay increases over the past year. There are now more than 50,000 GPs nationally, with nearly 40,000 fully qualified which he claimed was the highest on record.

Kinnock also pledged to reduce bureaucratic burdens and red tape, signalling forthcoming legislation that would enhance the professional status of GPs and place them on a more equal footing with other medical specialties.

“We will not accept a situation where GPs can’t get a job and patients can’t see a GP,” Kinnock told conference delegates, earning applause. He pointed to rising patient satisfaction, up from 61 % to 75 % in some areas, as evidence that reforms are beginning to have an impact.

Another central theme of his speech was the government’s vision for the new Neighbourhood Health Service. He stressed that GPs would remain at the heart of this model, with patients already benefiting from reforms that have diverted more than half a million referrals to community services such as physiotherapy and sexual health instead of hospital waiting lists. The minister acknowledged, however, that challenges remain. He praised GPs for their resilience and reaffirmed that their expertise and experience would not be taken for granted.

October 16, 2025
Stephen Kinnock – 2025 Speech at RCGP Annual Conference

The speech made by Stephen Kinnock, the Care Minister, in Newport, Wales on 9 October 2025.

As the front door to the NHS, it is general practice that is at the coalface of the devastation that poor health causes in the most deprived communities.

How it leaves children too sick for school, and adults too weak to work.

How these consequences play out over the course of a lifetime, and how they become entrenched in families generation after generation.

This is why closing the health gap between the richest and poorest is one of this government’s top priorities.

Because the fact that a child born in Blackpool will now live 10 years fewer than a child born in Hampshire is utterly shameful.

I know that the injustice of this postcode lottery piles ever increasing pressure on the GP practices already bearing the brunt of historic underinvestment.

The college’s own research last year found that in the poorest parts of the country, there are an extra 300 patients per GP, and those of you serving in some of the most deprived parts of England receive less funding compared to practices in better off places.

This, in the very areas where great healthcare is in the greatest need.

And so this government is committed to doing better by you and by everyone in our country, not just the wealthy few.

The Prime Minister promised last week a Britain built for all, and that means no longer leaving grotesque health inequalities unaddressed.

So I can confirm today that I have formally commissioned a review of the Carr-Hill formula through the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

This will ensure that resources… [clapping]. Thank you.

This will ensure that resources are targeted where they are most needed, so that no practice in England is left short changed and no patient is left without care.

Now, I’ve been in this role long enough now to see the very real difference we can make to people’s lives when we come together to deliver what patients need.

And my promise to you is that this government does not and never will take your experience and expertise, nor your loyalty to our service, to our health service, and to public service for granted.

Which is why we hit the ground running from day one [political content removed].

We invested an additional £1.1 billion into general practice, the biggest increase in over a decade, and funded 2 above-inflation pay increases.

And in one of our first decisions, Wes Streeting and I reformed the ARRS to provide you with greater flexibility and entrust you with putting together the staff your practices need.

Part of those changes included an extra £82 million – the first step to hiring an extra 2,000 GPs.

In fact, we now have the highest number of GPs on record: more than 50,000, of which about almost 40,000 are fully qualified.

And we’re increasing the number of GP training places in line with the campaign that the RCGP announced today.

That is a win for practices and a win for patients. We will not accept a situation where GPs can’t get a job and patients can’t see a GP [clapping]. Thank you.

We also swept away a swathe of meaningless and unnecessary targets, because your time is valuable and should be spent caring for patients, and we will shortly be consulting on legislation that finally recognises and honours GP status, expertise and parity with other specialties.

Amidst all of this, patient satisfaction in general practice has gone from 61% last year to 75% this year.

You should be applauding yourself, because that is a credit to all of the hard work that you are putting in.

It shows that after more than a decade of cuts, we are putting general practice back on the road to recovery. So, thank you all very much.

Thank you for all that you have done to get us from where we were 14 months ago to where we are today.

We are moving in the right direction, step by step, and as we fix the foundations, we’re looking forward with a 10 year plan that offers a vision of the truly modern health service that you are crying out for.

One of the key enablers of our 10 year plan is the move to the Neighbourhood Health Service, which we’re clear will only work with GPs at the heart of it. Just look at the difference that so many of you are already making for patients by taking advantage of the reforms we made to the Advice and Guidance scheme.

Figures released today show that more than half a million people have now been referred to services like dieticians, physiotherapists and sexual health experts instead of being dumped onto hospital waiting lists.

For patients, it all adds up to quicker treatment, closer to home. That’s fewer wasted journeys, fewer cancelled appointments and fewer people left in limbo.

It also frees up hospitals to focus on the most urgent cases. And it stops GP practices seeing the same patients time and time again while they wait for hospital treatment.

That is what a neighbourhood health service looks like. It is emphatically not about bringing an end to the partnership model, which we absolutely support and where it is working well, it should and it will continue.

But we’re also creating an option to work over larger geographies, leading to new neighbourhood providers with teams of skilled professionals.

We will introduce the new neighbourhood contract starting next year and arrangements for the multi-neighbourhood provider will follow.

We are already making the shift from hospital to community a reality, and I firmly believe that the Neighbourhood Health Service offers a potentially game changing opportunity for GPs to shape the future of care, a future where you’re liberated from the parts of the job that you hate, the form filling and the box ticking, and you can focus on what you came into the profession to do, where you have the tools, the equipment, and the autonomy to provide world class care and where you’d be proud to treat patients in world class facilities. Where you come in for a shift with a sense of purpose, and you go home with a sense of achievement.

That is the promise that comes with this government.

An NHS back on its feet and fit for the future.

And the stakes could not be higher. According to a survey published in the summer, half of millennials in the UK are planning to use private healthcare in the next year.

Young professionals aged 35 to 44 are increasingly opting for employment with medical insurance. Forget company cars, career progression or holidays. Nowadays, job seekers are lured by fast and easy access to a doctor and routine tests at their convenience.

That presents an existential threat to the NHS. Because if a generation of patients opt out, they will eventually ask why are they paying so much tax for a service that they no longer use?

That is the path to 2-tier healthcare, which would widen the health inequalities that we all want to close, and would put the future of the NHS itself at risk by turning it into a poor service for poor people.

So there is simply no getting away from the fact that we have to move with the times and, in particular, make the shift from analogue to digital.

And standardising online access and triage is a vitally important element of that shift. It is also key to our manifesto pledges to end the ‘8am scramble’ by widening the window that patients have to request appointments, and to bringing back the family doctor, by in many cases giving patients the option to choose a specific GP when they make that online booking.

So I am really pleased that as of last financial year, 85% of PCNs said all their practices already had online consultation available for admin and clinical requests, at least for the duration of core hours.

I saw one for myself just recently: the Grand Union Health Centre in Paddington, while another London surgery reduced waits from 14 days to 3, with 95% of patients seen within a week thanks to the introduction of online facility.

They, like many practices up and down the country, have really got this cracked and they’re offering a better service to patients as a result of giving them the choice to phone up, walk in or log on.

But don’t just take my word for it.

I was delighted to read this week your support for online access, Kamila, while Dr Joe McMannus, a GP and clinical director in Oxfordshire, calls it a game changer for staff and patients.

Dr Duncan Gooch, chair of the primary care network at the NHS Confederation, said the system can and, I quote, help ensure fair access to advice and treatment, adding that many of our members are operating in this way already and have been positive about the impact.

Managing demand and providing better access reduces stress on staff, reduces conflict with patients and creates a positive environment where job satisfaction is high, he says.

I’m sure he speaks for many of you, and I’m grateful to the overwhelming majority who have enthusiastically embraced this move to modernisation.

Of course, we fully understand that there are practices which, for varying reasons, are struggling to get their systems up and running. For them, we have put in place a mix of tailored support measures available nationally, both online and directly from ICBs.

These include funding for software, peer to peer support, webinars and hands-on help with workflows, staff training and processes through the General Practice Improvement Programme, which currently has 600 practices taking part.

All these tools and more are still on offer, so please do take advantage of them if you need to. But ladies and gentlemen, what I simply cannot get my head around and what we will not tolerate is the rump of refuseniks and their cheerleaders and the BMA who are intent on whipping up this issue.

And I suspect that patients are just as mystified. Here are the facts.

We negotiated and agreed a contract package in February that included the requirement to have online access available throughout core hours.

We agreed to delay the implementation by 6 months to give practices time to prepare. We established clear safeguards that mean GPs can divert those with urgent needs to the telephone. And we insisted that surgeries must remain fully accessible by phone and walk in.

So we are profoundly puzzled as to why this has suddenly blown up as an issue. The BMA claims that GPs are terrified. Really?

And they say the patients are at risk from an avalanche of online requests that will lead to hospital style waiting lists.

But neither of these doomsday scenarios have so far materialised.

Indeed, research recently published in the BMJ examining 10.5 million patient contacts found no evidence of supply-induced demand, with practices able to tailor a care according to need, safely and with fair prioritisation.

Even the HSSIB notes that significant benefits of using online consultation tools include improved access, reduced telephone call volumes, more effective allocation of clinical time, and improved health and wellbeing.

So you can imagine how taken aback I was then to read one GP with 20 years’ experience saying, and I quote, the new system feels almost like modern day slavery.

I mean, come on, we’re asking GPs to allow patients online consultations, and of course, you’re entitled to your views on that and how it might affect your working practices.

But to suggest that it is akin to being forced into prostitution or coerced to work on a cannabis farm for zero pay and zero control over your life – that is, frankly, too much and going too far.

We’re always happy to have discussions with the BMA to understand their concerns and to talk about how we can work through them together.

What we will not do is unpick the contract that we agreed with them in February, nor will we abandon modernisation and turn the NHS into a museum for 20th century healthcare.

That would be a betrayal of the patients all of us here are fighting for.

Look, I know that everything in the garden is definitely not rosy. When we said that the NHS was broken, we didn’t just mean for patients.

General practice in particular is still recovering from years of being underfunded, undervalued and overstretched.

But as the Secretary of State for Health has said, the NHS is hanging by a thread.

And instead of pulling on that thread, we should all be pulling in the same direction. We’re clear that the future of the NHS depends on building a health service that values GPs, invests in GPs and supports GPs.

And so we will uphold our commitment to developing a new contract within this Parliament.

Ladies and gentlemen, the truth is that for the first time in a very long time, you have a government that is on your side.

If we are to close the widening gap, expand access to primary care and catapult the NHS into the 21st century, then we need to be on the same side.

Because restoring the NHS founding promise to provide first class healthcare for everyone, whoever you are, whatever your background and wherever you live, is truly a team effort.

And only by working together as partners will we pull it off and rescue the NHS from the biggest crisis in its history.

Thank you very much.

October 16, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Keir Starmer meeting with President Erdoğan of Türkiye [October 2025]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 13 October 2025.

The Prime Minister met President Erdoğan of Türkiye at the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit this afternoon.

The Prime Minister thanked the President for his invaluable role in the process to achieve a ceasefire and bring an end to the war.

Both agreed that now must be a turning point, and we must maintain momentum towards implementation of the peace plan.

The Prime Minister reiterated that the UK stands ready to play a leading role in the next phase.

They ended the discussion on other shared priorities, including a commitment to collaborate more closely on defence.

October 16, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : UK-Uganda Agro-Industrialisation – productivity for farmers [October 2025]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 October 2025.

Representatives of the UK and Ugandan governments, farmers, businesses and development partners discussed collaborations to boost productivity for farmers.

The first UK-Uganda Agro-Industrialisation Forum was held on 27 August 2025, with representatives of the UK and Ugandan governments, farmers, businesses and development partners discussing collaborations to boost farm productivity, exports to the UK, regional food trade, and climate resilience.  

Agro-Industrialisation is a pillar of Uganda’s National Development Plan, through which the government seeks to boost agricultural financing, expand agro-industrial infrastructure, enhance access to technology, and strengthen value chains to increase the country’s agro-exports.

The UK has a long history of collaborating with Uganda’s agricultural sector, for example UK business, Nexus Green, has worked with the Ministry of Water and Environment to roll out irrigation schemes with farmers across the country.

The UK’s 39-million-pound Climate Smart Jobs programme is working with businesses, researchers and financial institutions to boost productivity and the climate resilience of farmers across Northern Uganda and through its Developing Countries Trading Scheme, the UK has made it easier for Ugandan exporters to get their produce on the shelves of UK shops.

British High Commissioner to Uganda, H.E. Lisa Chesney said:

The UK is committed to our partnership with Uganda and working together to accelerate sustainable development and mutually beneficial economic growth. We know this goal cannot be realised without transforming agriculture as Uganda’s biggest employer. I’m therefore excited to bring together public and private sector leaders to discuss how the UK and Uganda can build on our deep existing links in the agricultural sector, to increase farm productivity, exports, climate resilience, and support Uganda’s ten-fold-growth ambitions.

The forum is expected to:
- raise awareness of UK agricultural technologies which can boost productivity and support agro-industrialisation
- link UK and Ugandan agribusinesses to work together
- boost Ugandan exports to the UK, using the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme and Uganda Airlines’ direct flight
- identify trade barriers and solutions for policymakers
- engage media houses to focus on climate change challenges and solutions for the agricultural sector
October 16, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Warsaw Human Dimension Conference 2025 – Statement by UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief [October 2025]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 October 2025.

UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, David Smith MP, condemns persecution on the basis of religion or belief.

Thank you, Madam Moderator. My name is David Smith and I am very pleased to be here today as UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief.  

The United Kingdom remains steadfast in our commitment to promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.  These rights are not isolated – when one is denied, others are weakened. Freedom of Religion or Belief is a cornerstone of this framework, and its protection is essential to building peaceful, inclusive societies. 

But, sadly, we must also confront the reality of rising intolerance. The surge in antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate since October 2023 is deeply concerning. The recent horrific terrorist attack outside a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the Jewish calendar– is a harrowing reminder that hatred knows no borders. 

Domestically, the UK is working to address hatred and intolerance at the roots. Antisemitism has no place in our or any society, and we have committed £72 million until 2028 to enhance security at Jewish schools, synagogues, and community sites, extending our funding to the Community Security Trust. We also work closely with our Independent Adviser on Antisemitism on the most effective methods to combat antisemitism and advocate for British Jewish communities.  The UK strongly supports the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism and we urge OSCE states to adopt and implement them. 

In the UK, we also continue to support the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme with an annual grant of £29.4m for security of mosques and faith schools. These measures reflect our unwavering commitment to confronting hatred and to upholding the right of every individual to practise their faith freely and without fear.  

Around the world, persecution on the basis of religion or belief is on the rise. According to the charity Open Doors, 380 million Christians alone are persecuted worldwide because of their faith. And as Humanists International’s Freedom of Thought Report underlines, the risks humanists and atheists face globally are significant.  

In July, I launched the UK’s new strategy on FoRB, with the overarching goal of reducing the number of countries where FoRB is curtailed around the world. We will do this through five core strands of work: multilateral advocacy; targeted bilateral engagement; strengthening coalitions for collective action; mainstreaming FoRB across our foreign policy; and increasing civil society engagement. This ambitious strategy reflects our belief that FoRB is central to global stability. 

Finally the UK proudly supports the vital work of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in confronting discrimination in all its forms. Thank you, Moderator.

October 16, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : Keir Starmer meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France [October 2025]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 13 October 2025.

The Prime Minister met President Emmanuel Macron of France in Sharm El-Sheikh today.

They welcomed the historic scenes of the last few days, with aid now pouring into Gaza and the hostages finally being reunited with their loved ones after unimaginable suffering.

Both leaders paid tribute to the vital efforts of President Trump and the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey for securing the first phase of peace. They agreed this should mark a turning point for the region, and attention must now turn to the next phase.

The Prime Minister said the UK stands ready to play a leadership role in the process of decommissioning Hamas, then supporting the reconstruction of Gaza and participating in the ceasefire monitoring mission.

Turning to Ukraine, they discussed continuing the momentum from today to drive towards a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and looked forward to convening a Coalition of the Willing meeting soon.

October 16, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : UK Statement at the World Trade Organization’s General Council in Geneva [October 2025]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 October 2025.

Item 6

We’d like to thank the LDC group for the efforts that they’ve made in finding alternative text which attempts to address all Members’ concerns, and want to acknowledge the compromises that they have made in doing so. The current draft appears unable to secure consensus from the membership, so clearly further work will be required. The UK remains committed to working with all members to try and help find a solution that is acceptable to all. Thank you.

Item 13

The UK welcomes China’s commitment to no longer seek Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT) in new WTO agreements. It’s an important step, a step that we hope will create positive momentum in the ongoing discussions on WTO reform. We know that country classification and S&DT are key cornerstones of this organisation, but there are long-standing calls for reform from developed and developing countries which need to be addressed. We hope that China’s announcement will create positive momentum and we encourage China and others to continue to think ambitiously about further steps that can be taken to progress WTO reform and strengthen the multilateral trading system. Thank you.

Item 14

Business voices at this year’s Public Forum were clear: the Agreement on Electronic Commerce will provide the predictability and stability that they need and will make trade cheaper, faster, fairer and more secure. Recent analysis by the OECD and the WTO has shown that the implementation of the deal can increase global trade by 2.3%, an increase of up to 8.7 trillion US dollars by 2040, with lower and middle income countries set to benefit most. The evidence also shows that each year that the implementation of the deal is delayed, 159 billion US dollars of foregone trade is being left on the table. And yet, while the support and evidence is clear, more than one year on from the conclusion of the negotiations we’ve been unable to incorporate the agreement into Annex 4. We’re open to engaging with all WTO members to ensure that we can all benefit from the agreement as soon as possible, and we hope that our request in December will be considered faithfully. We’ve already missed out on a year’s worth of economic benefits. We shouldn’t delay further.

And before I give up the floor, I also pass on my heartfelt thank you to Jeremy from Australia who’s personally played such a big role in this agreement. We will really miss his wisdom and his guidance on this and so many other issues. Thank you.

Item 17

Thank you, Chair. We would like to thank India for their interest and engagement from the UK’s Article XXVIII process, which concluded on the 1st of October. The UK issued eight extensions to the process over a seven-year period to allow time to address Members’ concerns, resolve negotiations and finalise administrative processes. We are ready to engage India bilaterally and in the most appropriate WTO forums on this matter. Thank you.

October 16, 2025
PRESS RELEASE : HMS Richmond ‘Alive With Opportunity’ showcase in Mumbai [October 2025]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 13 October 2025.

The UK hosted a flagship trade and investment reception on HMS Richmond at Mumbai Port, marking the visit of the UK Carrier Strike Group to India.

The reception showcased how the UK and India’s free trade agreement (FTA) will make it cheaper, easier, and quicker to do business together – unlocking new opportunities across sectors from manufacturing and defence to clean energy and technology.

The event followed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first official visit to India in Mumbai this week, where he was joined by the UK’s largest ever trade delegation to India. The visit evidenced the vast opportunities for businesses across the UK and India following our historic FTA, and the launch of our refreshed Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Vision 2035, in July.

UK Minister for Investment Jason Stockwood and Defence Minister Lord Vernon Coaker both attended the event after a day of productive business talks with leading UK and Indian businesses.

The Minister for Investment met with Indian firms, outlining the sector-specific partnerships of the FTA framework, new investment opportunities and technology collaboration.

Lord Vernon Coaker also attended a Defence Capability showcase onboard HMS Richmond and met with the India’s Raksha Rajya Mantri (Minister of State for Defence) Shri Sanjay Seth, outlining the opportunities for stronger UK-India defence industrial cooperation to deliver growth and jobs in both countries.

Investment Minister Jason Stockwood said:

Our landmark trade deal with India is already delivering for businesses in both countries with investment boosted across the board.

I have been inspired by the entrepreneurial energy of the wide range of business leaders, investors, and cultural representatives I’ve met during my visit, and this is a testament to the strong ties we have forged with our Indian partners as we continue to boost trade as part of our Plan for Change.

UK Defence Minister Lord Vernon Coaker said:

It was a pleasure to visit India during a week which saw the UK-India partnership reach new heights. The UK Carrier Strike Group conducted Exercise Konkan with the Indian Navy, led by their indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

We are now entering the era of defence co-production, which will provide mutual benefits to both the countries. The various initiatives demonstrate the growing depth and trust in our relationship, which is even more important to promote peace, security and stability in an increasingly uncertain world.

The reception followed the first ever British and Indian Carrier Strike Group joint exercise, Exercise KONKAN, which commenced earlier this week. New milestones for UK-India defence collaboration were also reached with a £350m deal set to deliver UK missiles for the Indian Army, and the signing of the Implementing Arrangement to advance cooperation on electric-powered engines for naval ships to the next stage, worth an initial £250m.

The ‘Alive with Opportunity’ reception was made possible by the invaluable support of sponsors. The British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai shared special thanks with the platinum sponsor, Premier League, gold partner HSBC India and in-kind partner Diageo India, whose contributions exemplify the strength of UK-India business ties. Their support, along with that of many others, helped to bring the celebration to life and reinforced the shared ambition of a prosperous future for both the UK and India.

Hrishikesh Shende, Managing Director Premier League India, said:

India is home to millions of football fans who follow the Premier League passionately and we are delighted to be supporting the ‘Alive with Opportunity’ showcase. The opening of the Premier League office in Mumbai earlier this year underpins the League’s long-standing commitment to India.

Looking forward, we will be focusing on getting even closer to our hugely knowledgeable fanbase and continuing our grassroots programmes to support access to high-quality football for young people across the country. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement is a boost to UK companies looking to invest and expand in India – creating business confidence and a framework for closer collaboration.

The event was attended by more than 400 leading figures representing government, businesses, investors, and cultural icons, celebrating the strengthening partnership between the UK and India spanning trade, investment and defence cooperation, demonstrating the depth and breadth of the UK and India’s relationship.

Further information
- The ‘UKxIndia: Alive with Opportunity’ campaign launched in 2023, celebrating the thriving partnership between the UK and India by showcasing the people, ideas, culture and innovation that drive collaboration across key sectors including tourism, education, retail, hospitality and trade.
- The UK’s Carrier Strike Group is currently on an eight-month deployment known as Operation HIGMAST. This multinational deployment led by the UK Carrier Strike Group providing an opportunity for the UK’s Armed Forces to conduct a major global deployment and a chance to exercise complex operations alongside partners and allies in the region. Read more here and here.
- A new £350 million deal, welcomed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will see UK missiles supplied to the Indian Army. Read more here.
October 16, 2025