The worsening Covid-19 crisis has forced Boris Johnson to scrap a high-profile trip to India, his first overseas visit since Brexit was completed.
The prime minister believed he should “remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus”, a Downing Street spokesperson.
The move will heighten criticism that Mr Johnson was unprepared for the dramatic surge in infections – triggering a third lockdown – when the trip was arranged for later this month.
At one time, Brexit supporters earmarked India as among the major new trade deals they hoped to secure once the UK had left the EU and its customs union.
However, India already appeared to have cooled on the prospect, at least without a significant increase in immigration to the UK which was unlikely to be conceded.
In a statement, No 10 said Mr Johnson had spoken with Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, to “express his regret that he will be unable to visit India later this month as planned”.
“In light of the national lockdown announced last night, and the speed at which the new coronavirus variant is spreading, the Prime Minister said that it was important for him to remain in the UK so he can focus on the domestic response to the virus,” it read.
“The leaders underlined their shared commitment to the bilateral relationship, and to continuing to build on the close collaboration between our countries – including in response to the pandemic.
“The Prime Minister said that he hopes to be able to visit India in the first half of 2021, and ahead of the UK’s G7 Summit that Prime Minister Modi is due to attend as a guest.”
The visit would have been Mr Johnson’s first major bilateral overseas visit since becoming prime minister way back in July 2019.
His trip to New York, two months later, had to be curtailed in dramatic fashion when the Supreme Court declared his shutdown of Parliament to be unlawful – requiring him to rush home.
The G7, scheduled to take place in the UK in the summer, is seen as crucial to a post-Brexit bounce back, but is likely to depend on worldwide progress in taming the new coronavirus spike.
Earlier, Michael Gove suggested the new lockdown will continue until March and that some restrictions will stay in place even longer.
Just hours after Mr Johnson promised a mid-February review point, his Cabinet ally warned the public to expect the curbs to remain for longer
“Nobody can predict with accuracy exactly what we will be able to relax and when,” Mr Gove said.
And he added: “I think it’s right to say that, as we enter March, we should be able to lift some of these restrictions but not necessarily all.”
