Sources have confirmed that the full text of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement has been leaked to this newsroom. The 1,200-page document, obtained from a whistleblower within the Department for Business and Trade, lays bare concessions that critics say prioritise corporate profits over public interest.
The leaked draft shows that the UK has agreed to slash tariffs on Indian pharmaceuticals by up to 70% over five years, a move that could devastate Britain’s own generic drug manufacturers. Industry insiders fear this will flood the market with cheap generics, forcing domestic firms to cut corners on safety standards to compete. One senior industry source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me: “This isn’t free trade. It’s a giveaway.”
But the most contentious clause is buried in Chapter 12. It establishes a joint ‘regulatory cooperation council’ with binding powers to override UK laws deemed ‘barriers to trade’. Environmental groups are up in arms, warning that this could force the UK to abandon post-Brexit pesticide bans and food safety rules. A leaked internal memo from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, seen by this reporter, warns that the clause “could render key elements of our domestic environmental legislation unenforceable”.
The government’s own impact assessment, marked ‘OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE’, acknowledges that the deal will cost the UK up to 3,500 jobs in the steel and textile sectors over the next decade. Yet trade minister Dominic Johnson is expected to herald the pact as a “historic win for British business” when it is formally signed next week.
Labour MP Emma Hardy, who sits on the International Trade Select Committee, received a copy of the leak late last night. “This is catastrophic,” she told me. “Our constituents are being sold out for a deal that even the government’s own numbers show will destroy livelihoods. The smokescreen of ‘Global Britain’ has been blown away.”
The Indian government has not officially commented, but a source in the High Commission expressed “deep concern” that the leak could undermine ratification. “Negotiations were conducted in good faith,” the source insisted.
Meanwhile, the London Stock Exchange saw shares in Indian pharmaceutical giants Sun Pharma and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories jump more than 4% in early trading. The market clearly knows what’s coming. The question is whether UK lawmakers will have the spine to block it.
This is a developing story. More details to follow as further documents emerge from the cache.








