The newly announced free trade deal between India and Britain is already coming under major fire just hours after it was proudly announced by both Prime Ministers. While Sir Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi lauded the post-Brexit deal as “a new era for trade and the economy”, a key element regarding tax is being condemned.

Under the terms of the deal, Indians coming to Britain to work will be exempt from paying National Insurance for three years. While this deal is reciprocal, Sir Keir Starmer is under fire for granting the exemption after hiking the same tax for hard-working Brits. Top Tory Robert Jenrick pointed out: “Starmer has hiked National Insurance on Brits while giving an exemption to Indian migrants. British workers come last in Starmer’s Britain.”

He added that while serving as minister for immigration at the Home Office, he and Suella Braverman “refused to accept unfair and unreasonable visa demands in the negotiation with India".

“Starmer has taken over and capitulated straight away," he said. "This will hurt British workers and encourage even more immigration when it is already ridiculously high."

Meanwhile Ms Braverman, the former Home Secretary, said she blocked the trade deal on visas concessions.

However accused Sir Keir of having “caved and opened our labour market to more Indian workers who will be cheaper to hire than Brits".

Referencing Reform UK’s recent local election and by-election victories, she demanded to know: “Haven’t you learnt anything from the last few days?!”

Sir Simon Clarke, the former cabinet minister, warned that the tax cave-in for Indian workers “has the potential to be a defining disaster for the Government. Outright subsidy of foreign workers and their employers.”

He echoed Ms Braverman by pointing to last week’s local election thrashing at the hands of Reform UK, quipping: “To have this announced on the Tuesday following *those* local election results is taking missing the point to an art form.”

Reform UK MP James McMurdock condemned the deal as “absolutely shocking”. The Essex MP accused Labour of having “rigged the job market against the British. I simply cannot believe what I’m seeing.”

It is understood that Kemi Badenoch, while serving as Trade Secretary prior to the election, refused to cave in to negotiators demanding exemptions on visas and national insurance.

It is not yet known how many visas the Government has indicated it will be willing to grant Indians as a result of the deal, nor how much the National Insurance waiver will cost British taxpayers.

However in 2022 it was reported that the tens of thousands of Indian nationals already working in Britain pay as much as £500 million annually into the Treasury via NICs.

The Treasury was approached for comment.