Prime Minister has high hopes of brokering a post-brexit India free trade deal ‘by the autumn’
Boris Johnson has said he hopes to broker a post-brexit free trade deal with India "by the autumn" in an apparent hastening of his ambition.
Mr Johnson said he had "no concerns" about the committee investigation.
Speaking during a trip to India, Mr Johnson said he had "no concerns" about Parliament’s decision to stage an investigation into partygate, adding: "If the opposition want to focus on this and talk about it a lot more that's fine."
But he said he "wanted to focus on what matters for the future of the country" including boosting trade ties with India, tackling the cost of living, energy, transport and childcare.
The Prime Minister has indicated a deal will include accepting Delhi's demands for an increase in migration to the UK, ahead of meeting his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
Mr Johnson had earlier put his target for a deal at the end of the year but appeared to shorten the timeframe during an interview in Gujarat, on the first day of his two-day visit to India.
Ahead of meeting Mr Modi, the Prime Minister told broadcasters: "We're hoping to complete another free trade agreement, with India, by the end of the year, by the autumn."
Mr Johnson has vowed to press Mr Modi for a reduction of fossil fuels from Vladimir Putin's Russia during talks in Delhi, amid concerns he has not been critical enough of the invasion of Ukraine.
But the PM was facing renewed calls in India to speak up for minorities and democratic rights as he visited a JCB factory, while bulldozers are being used to tear down Muslim-owned properties in communal violence. He indicated he would bring up those issues during talks with Mr Modi, who is accused of damaging India's democracy and of whipping up anti-muslim sentiment.
The Prime Minister said: "We always raise the difficult issues, of course we do, but the fact is that India is a country of 1.35 billion people and it is democratic, it's the world's largest democracy."
Mr Johnson's diplomatic dash in India comes amid the fallout after he was fined for breaching coronavirus laws with a gathering for his 56th birthday in 2020.