TENSIONS between Westminster priorities mean the UK is “falling behind in the global race to engage with India”, MPs say.

As UK-India week begins, a new report by the cross-party Foreign Affairs Committee urges UK leaders to “adjust” their strategy as India’s global power and influence continues to increase.

And while the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) “Global Britain” strategy is supposed to help secure post-Brexit trade outwith the EU, it is being drowned out by the Home Office’s “hostile environment” to immigration, the MPs found.

The report, which follows an inquiry, states: “India’s place in the world is changing fast and the UK Government needs to adjust its strategy to fit India’s enhanced influence and power; the UK cannot afford to be complacent or rely on historical ties.”

The publication falls on India Day at the Houses of Parliament, which will be followed by two days of talks in Buckinghamshire. It says there is “no excuse for the migration policies” which are now deterring Indian visitors and tourists, damaging the relationship between the states.

And it emphasises that the failure to issue a full apology 100 years after the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre is just one of the ways in which British leaders have neglected to give India sufficient consideration.

Also known as the Amritsar massacre, the atrocity claimed the lives of at least 379 peaceful protesters. The Indian National Congress puts that figure at approximately 1000.

In April more than 80 MPs supported a call for a formal apology, but while Theresa May described the violence as a “shameful scar on British-Indian history” in the days before the anniversary, a full apology was not given.

Indian nationals are amongst those to have been caught up in the highly-skilled migrant visa scandal, which has seen architects, doctors, lawyers and IT workers accused of falsifying financial records. Meanwhile, critics have hit out at the increase in minimum earnings requirements for immigrants from non-EU nations.

Now the report says the Home Office commitment to reduce net migration to “tens of thousands” is “completely incompatible with a post-Brexit immigration policy that will allow unlimited numbers of students, workers within certain sectors, seasonal workers, and key workers”.

The report states: “There is a tension between the FCO’s promotion of a ‘Global Britain’, and some wider government efforts to reduce net migration. While the Global Britain strategy is barely being communicated in India, the ‘hostile environment’ message is being heard loud and clear.

“It is short-sighted for the Government not to do more to open doors for Indian entrepreneurs, tech workers, tourists and students, who offer clear benefits to the UK and often plan only a short-term stay.”

It goes on: “We are concerned that government policy has been driven by the single-minded objective of reducing net migration, championed by the Home Office, and that the FCO has not been able to play enough of a role in formulating government policy towards India.”

Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee – which also includes North East Fife MP Stephen Gethins and Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray – said: “The UK has failed to give the relationship the attention it deserves.”

Urging departments to work together, he went on: “We cannot miss the opportunity to partner with India. Trade, security, a shared commitment to the rules-based international system – these are all factors in our growing and evolving partnership.

“The Government needs to make sure the UK is making its support for India clear, reawakening the ties between us and building bridges that are made to last.”

The FCO said the UK and India “have a unique relationship that is broad and deep”, adding: “We are working together for to build our prosperity, champion the rules-based international system, and address common threats and challenges.”