VIP lane for PM's father-in-law firm

TORY MINISTER PLEDGES TO HELP INFOSYS GROW BUSINESS IN UK

- NICK SOMMERLAD and RUSSELL SCOTT

A TOP Tory told the Prime Minister's wife's family firm he would "do what he could" to ensure the company's growth in the UK.

We used Freedom of Information laws to force the Government to release details of a meeting between business and trade minister Lord Dominic Johnson and Infosys, the Indian tech company in which Mr Sunak's wife Akshata Murty has shares.

Her shares earned her £13m last year and help make her husband the UK's wealthiest-ever Prime Minister.

The papers disclose how the peer told the firm's 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 engag at a Ministerial level when requested of us."

Labour yesterday blasted the document 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.

SECRET

Details of the meeting in India last April had not been released until we asked for them and its revelation follows our 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.

At the 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.

The PM's wife owns £624m shares in the IT giant founded by her father. 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.