The UK and India have struck an “ambitious” trade deal that will slash tariffs on products such as whisky and gin. 

The agreement will also see Indian tariffs cut on cosmetics and medical devices and will deliver a £4.8bn boost to the UK economy, according to the government.

It is also expected to increase bilateral trade by £25.5bn, UK GDP by £4.8bn and wages by £2.2bn each year in the long term.

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The news will be a welcome boost for the government following poor local election results, which saw Labour lose the Runcorn by-election and control of Doncaster Council to a resurgent Reform UK.

What will also be touted as a victory for Downing Street is the fact the government managed to strike a deal with India before the White House.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer hailed the “historic day for the United Kingdom and for India”.

“This is the biggest trade deal that we, the UK, have done since we left the EU,” the prime minister said.

What trade-offs are in the ‘historic’ deal with India?

Gurpreet Narwan

Business and economics correspondent

@gurpreetnarwan

This is the most significant trade deal Britain has negotiated since Brexit. It has been three years in the making with round the clock negotiations taking place in recent days.

Britain and India were coming from very different starting points. India’s economy is notoriously protectionist, with average tariff rates floating at around 130%. The UK, by comparison, is a very open economy. Our tariff rates hover around 5%. It means there were many prizes on offer for UK exporters, who are eyeing up a rapidly growing economy with increasingly powerful consumers.

The government will point to considerable concessions on 90% of tariff lines, 85% of them will go down to zero within the decade. It includes wins on whisky, which within ten years will be halved from the current 150%. No other country has managed to get India to move on that.

Of course there are trade-offs involved. The UK has agreed to lower tariffs on Indian textiles and apparel- a big employer in India. It will also make it easier for Indian professionals to come to the UK, something the Indians have been pushing hard on. However, there will be no formal changes to immigration policy.

Both countries have also refused to budge on certain industries. The UK has not lowered tariffs on milled rice, out of fear it could decimate native industries. The same applies to dairy for the Indians. Both sides have agreed quotas on cars for the same reason.

The Indians were pushing for an exemption for its high emission industries from the UK’s upcoming carbon tax. It is understood that will not happen.

“And it’s the most ambitious trade deal that India has ever done. And this will be measured in billions of pounds into our economy and jobs across the whole of the United Kingdom.

“So it is a really important, significant day. “

In a post on X, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also welcomed the agreement as a “historic milestone” and added: “I look forward to welcoming PM Starmer to India soon.”

Negotiations for the deal relaunched in March after stalling under the Tory government over issues including trade standards and the relaxation of visa rules for Indian workers.

Overall, 90% of tariff lines will be reduced under the deal, with 85% of those becoming fully tariff-free within a decade.

Whisky and gin tariffs will be halved from 150% to 75% before falling to 40% by year ten of the deal, while automotive tariffs will go from more than 100% to 10% under a quota, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said.

For Indian consumers, there will be reduced tariffs on cosmetics, aerospace, lamb, medical devices, salmon, electrical machinery, soft drinks, chocolate and biscuits.

Meanwhile, British shoppers could see cheaper prices and more choice on products including clothes, footwear, and food products including frozen prawns as the UK liberalises tariffs.

India’s trade ministry said that under the deal, 99% of Indian exports will benefit from zero duty, Britain will remove a tariff on textile imports and Indian employees working in the UK will be exempt from social security payments for three years.

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Shadow trade secretary Andrew Griffith added: “It’s good to see the government recognise that reducing cost and burdens on businesses in international trade is a good thing, and that thanks to Brexit we can do.

“But it would be even better if they would apply the same reasoning to our domestic economy, where they remain intent on raising taxes, energy costs and regulatory burdens.”

The news was also welcomed by business group the British Chamber of Commerce, which said it was a “welcome lift for our exporters”.

William Bain, head of trade policy, said:  ”Against the backdrop of mounting trade uncertainty across the globe, these tariff reductions will be a big relief. Products from Scotch whisky to clothing will benefit and this will give UK companies exporting to India a clear edge on increasing sales.

“The proposals for a follow-up investment treaty will also provide a solid platform to grow manufacturing and other sectors in our two economies.”

Munzir is hunched over in a chair when we get to the office of a displacement camp for the undocumented in Sudan’s capital.

He looks defeated and sullen. His leg is wrapped in gauze and his crutches are leaning against the wall by the side of the chair.

Two months ago, a stray bullet hit his leg in army-held territory in Omdurman and he was taken to the largest remaining functioning hospital in the area, Al Nao Hospital.

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After being discharged, and unable to walk without support, he was brought to Osman Makkawi shelter for patients with no home to return to.

Here, he has joined the missing. The camp is home to dozens of wounded civilians who do not have ID or a way to contact their loved ones.

For two years of war, Munzir has not been able to go to his house in southern Khartoum as battles raged for control of the capital. Bridges were targeted by snipers belonging to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and uncrossable for civilians.

At least 50,000 people have been separated from their families during the first two years of Sudan’s civil war, according to local human rights groups.

This shocking statistic is likely a gross underestimate and has remained staggeringly high even as hundreds of detainees were freed after the army reclaimed Khartoum from the RSF in late March.

Munzir was told his family fled to their ancestral home in Damazin, eastern Sudan and had no means to make the journey across the White Nile Bridge connecting Omdurman to the heart of the capital once it became accessible.

In the murkiness of war, one man has been tirelessly working to change Munzir’s sad reality.

Mohamed Alfatih is the head of a charity called Resilience. He runs Osman Makkawi camp through donations and has launched a social media campaign to find Munzir’s family.

“We have reunited 287 people with their families and we are set on Munzir becoming our 288th.”

Through Facebook, he has managed to connect with Munzir’s uncle who told Mohamed that his mother is still at home in Mayo, southern Khartoum. But there are no guarantees – Mayo is still rife with militants and the army is known to move civilians around for security reasons.

“We work with facts. We have received this information from his uncle and this is the first real tip we get about Munzir’s mother’s whereabouts,” Mohamed says.

“We hope to God that he finds his mother at home.”

This information is enough for Mohamed to take Munzir to check.

It’s Munzir’s first journey home since a month before the war started in April 2023. Every few moments he says: “I just pray my mother is home.”

As he crosses White Nile Bridge into al-Mogran – the landmark Khartoum location at the confluence of the White and Blue Niles – he looks around with wide eyes.

“Two years without seeing Khartoum or the Nile. I am just happy to see it. We used to bathe here on the banks.”

As we drive into Khartoum, he starts crying. These are tears of joy. He cannot believe he is back home and heading towards his family. Only the destruction around us can interrupt the relief and his crying turns into a look of shock and despair.

“I cannot believe the damage. I heard about it but seeing it is chilling.”

As we get closer to his neighbourhood, he is nervous and overwhelmed. We will have to check different displacement shelters around the area if his family are not at home.

“What if she’s not there?” I ask.

“Patience. I will have to have patience,” he replies with the thought darkening his face.

We finally make it to the house. Munzir leaps out and moves quickly towards the door with his crutches.

The outside area of his house is closed off with white corrugated iron that looks unfamiliar to him.

He taps on the door and looks out with stress and uncertainty as we wait for seconds that feel like a long minute.

There is a sound of children in the house and the door opens. A little boy looks up and there is a pause of shock before he breaks out into a smile. “Hey!” he says and runs back into the house out of sight.

He alerts an adult and runs back out as a woman comes into the front yard from inside the house.

“My son!” Khadija yells. “My son!”

She grabs hold of him and wails as two years of anguish and worry pour out of her.

After five full minutes of crying, she finally starts to speak.

“I’ve been waiting for him for so long. Losing my son made me sick, I could barely walk and had to creep against the walls to keep myself up. I thought I would die,” she tells us, weakened from the sobbing and long sleepless nights.

Her sister Nagwa comes to see her nephew whom she raised like a son. She greets us as she walks into the living room with her eyes searching for Munzir.

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“Munzir!” she exclaims as she hugs him with sobs. “We were searching for you but had no money to find you.”

From the yard, we hear celebrations break out in the neighbourhood. Streams of guests start to arrive to congratulate the family and greet Munzir.

One after the other, he shakes the hands of his neighbours.

For this family, the worst of the war is over. Their son has come home, wounded but alive, and the days ahead of shelling, drone strikes and rampant crime will never compare to the pain of thinking he may be dead.

A glimmer of warmth and relief in the relentless cycle of violence in Sudan’s war.

The cardinals have arrived, the finishing touches are being made; Vatican City is preparing for an election like no other.

On Wednesday, the papal conclave begins and many visitors to St Peter’s Square already have a clear view on what they would like the outcome to be.

“I want a liberal pope,” says Joyce who has travelled to Rome from the US.

“My number one is Pierbattista Pizzaballa,” says blogger Teodorita Giovannella referencing the 60-year-old Italian cardinal.

Rome resident Michele Rapinesi thinks the next pope will be the Vatican’s secretary of state, Pietro Parolin, who was Pope Francis’ number two.

Although the job of selecting the next pontiff lies with 133 cardinal electors, Ms Giovannella and Mr Rapinesi are among 75,000 Italians playing an online game trying to predict who they’ll pick.

Fantapapa is a similar format to fantasy football, but teams are made up of prospective pontiffs.

Ms Giovannella has chosen three popular Italians as her favourites: Cardinals Pizzaballa, Zuppi and Parolin.

After 47 years she wants an Italian pope but believes an Asian or African would be a good “plot twist”.

Despite the growing speculation and excitement, for the cardinal electors the papal conclave is the serious and sombre process of choosing the next leader of the Catholic Church and its 1.4 billion followers.

To keep the vote secret, they are locked in the Sistine Chapel which has been swept for hidden cameras, recording equipment and bugs.

The windows are covered to keep the outside world out and to stop drones from spying.

Mobile phones are banned and signal jammers have been installed to help stop any information being leaked.

Ballots are burned after they are cast and a plume of coloured smoke shows people if a new pope has been chosen.

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The cardinal who is elected will become one of the most powerful men in the world and will set the course for the Catholic Church for years to come, making decisions which will affect the lives of millions of people worldwide.

Pope Francis’ 12-year reign pulled the church in a more progressive direction.

His fight for migrants and climate change made him a muse for Roman street artist Mauro Pallotta.

He met him five times and painted more than 30 pictures of him, celebrating his life on the walls of Rome.

One shows Francis with a catapult shooting out hearts.

“It depicts the strong love he had for people,” Mr Pallotta explains.

In another, he wears a cape and is depicted as a superhero.

“I hope the new pope continues the way of Pope Francis and remembers the poor people of the world,” he says.

Whether the next pontiff is another pope of the people, a progressive or conservative will soon be decided by the cardinals.

Their choice will determine if the Catholic Church continues down the route set by Francis or takes a different path.