Top Tory accused of offering 'VIP lane' for Rishi Sunak's wife's firm in UK

Lord Dominic Johnson said he would "do what he could" to help Indian IT firm Infosys grow business in the UK

A Tory minister on a trade mission to India promised the Prime ­Minister’s wife’s family firm that he would “do what he could” to ensure the company’s growth in the UK.

Lord Dominic Johnson met Infosys, the Indian tech company in which Sunak’s wife Akshata Murty has 39 million shares, last April.

During the meeting in Bangalore, the peer told Infosys executives he was “keen to see a bigger Infosys presence in the UK and would be happy to do what he could to facilitate that”.

Lord Johnson said: “We value the relationship with Infosys and will continue to engage at a Ministerial level when requested of us.”

These revelations follow my story last week on how Infosys was potentially in line for millions in public money after being put on an “approved list” of suppliers for public sector contracts worth more than £750million.

Details of Johnson’s meeting with Infosys were contained in documents released under Freedom of Information legislation to investigative journalist Russell Scott and shared with me and the Sunday Mirror.

Labour yesterday blasted the documents as damning. It said the Government had serious questions to answer about giving “VIP access” to a business so personally close to the PM. The Lib Dems demanded full transparency.

At the Bangalore meeting, Lord Johnson steered Infosys on how to obtain UK visas for its staff and “reassured” them on the prospects for the UK economy.

His officials reported that “despite Brexit”, Infosys wanted to further boost its £1.8bn-a-year UK business.

Akshata Murty’s Infosys shares earned her £13m last year and help make her husband the UK’s wealthiest-ever Prime Minister. Together with her brother and mother, the family own £2.4billion in shares.

Now Infosys is planning to increase its workforce in the UK – its second- biggest market – by 20% to 6,000.

One of the firm’s biggest investors is Somerset Capital, co-founded by Lord Johnson, a major Tory party donor and former vice-chairman of the Tory party who Mr Sunak re-appointed as Trade Minister after he became PM in October 2022.

The India meeting in April 2023 also included discussions over the free trade agreement (FTA) being negotiated between India and the UK and how it would benefit Infosys.

In the briefing notes for Johnson, one bullet point says: “Reassure that the FTA will further create new opportunities and investor friendly policies to support business growth.”

The department of business and trade rejected Freedom of Information requests about Johnson’s meeting with Infosys - including from me - but released the documents after tenacious investigative journalist Russell Scott (whose Substack is well worth subscribing to) lodged a request for an internal review.

Lord Johnson’s four-day trip to India cost the Department for Business and Trade £8,167. Infosys was one of 10 firms selected for face-to-face time with the peer. During the one-hour meeting at Infosys’ HQ in Bangalore, Lord Johnson was given a bouquet of flowers, a tour and lunch.

He was joined by Daniel Gieve, chief executive of the Office for Investment, which was launched by Mr Sunak when he was Chancellor.

In his “steering brief” in the document, Lord Johnson was told Infosys was a Tier 1 investor and that he needed to “acknowledge their commitment to the UK and engagement with senior UK visitors”.

The document added that: “Despite Brexit and the pandemic, Infosys has not stalled their UK growth plans. It would be good to reassure them on the prospects for the UK economy and remind them of the support we can provide through DBT [Department for Business and Trade].”

Notes from the meeting state that an Infosys exec told Lord Johnson the UK is their second-largest market, with 6,000 employees and more than 100 clients.

They added that “talent was one of the attractions of the UK, but it was hard to find enough skilled people”.

Johnson “outlined the mobility schemes available which Infosys could take advantage of, particularly the High Potential Individual visa scheme”. This allows holders to stay in the UK for two years.

Infosys has UK offices in London, Edinburgh and Nottingham and specialises in consulting, outsourcing and IT, including cyber security and cloud services. Infosys did not respond to a request for comment.

Labour shadow paymaster general Jonathan Ashworth said: “After the Tories handed billions in taxpayers’ cash to cronies for duff PPE, 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.”

Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper added: “This Government seems intent on wrecking the public’s trust in ­politics. The public has a right to know what the Government is up to.

“We must have full transparency of all government dealings with a firm so closely linked to the Prime Minister.”

A Department for Business and Trade spokesman said: “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.” I revealed last week that Infosys is one of 25 firms named on a new £250m contract issued by NHS Shared Business Services last month for so-called “intelligent automation”.

It is also one of 62 suppliers lined up for a potential share of up to £562.5m in contracts from the Financial Conduct Authority for IT services, released in October.

These so-called “framework agreements” allow public bodies to directly award contracts without further tendering. No awards have been made, but Infosys may be in line for millions in taxpayers’ money.

Lord Johnson is a former Tory vice-chairman who has given £319,391 to the party.

In December, the Sunday Mirror revealed Somerset Capital Management LLP owns a £105m stake in Infosys.

The Department for Business said Lord Johnson had resigned from Somerset Capital before becoming a minister.

A spokesman added: “The ministerial code was followed at all times.”

A version of this story also appeared in the Sunday Mirror.