Boris Johnson has begun his two-day visit to India, in which businesses are set to announce investments and export deals worth over £1bn.
The prime minister was accused of using the trip – in which no breakthroughs on a trade deal are expected – to distract from his domestic woes, with Tory MPs being whipped on Thursday to delay a Commons inquiry into evidence that he misled parliament over Partygate.
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi claimed that delaying until the conclusion of the police investigation was “the right chronology”, dismissing opposition attempts to force an imminent inquiry as “petty politics” and “shenanigans”.
Labour said it will plaster the names of Tory MPs who block the inquiry across local elections’ leaflets and adverts, warning them not to join an “Owen Paterson-style cover-up”.
Speaking to reporters on his flight to Gujarat, Mr Johnson insisted he would fight the next general election, adding: “I think the best thing that we can all do is focus on the things that really change and improve the lives of voters and stop talking about politicians.”
