Labour leader Keir Starmer hailed the new free trade deal with India as a 'huge win' for Britain today as he over-rode criticism about its tax breaks for India workers and taunt the Tories, saying the £5bn agreement was the largest made by the UK since Brexit. There is one tricky situation: The agreement is giving Indian employees of Indian firms working in the UK a three-year exemption from national insurance payments which has been agreed on basis to avoids people being taxed twice at home and abroad. The Tories fight back and accused the government of creating a 'two-tier' system that gave Indian workers an advantage.

Make no mistake: With the previous Tory government handing a five-year exemption to Chile in 2012.

We have to remain ourselves that the National Insurance contributions for British firms were increased in last year's Budget.

Opening PMQs, Sir Keir said: 'The landmark deal we have done with India is a huge win for working people in this country. After years of negotiations this government has delivered in months, slashing tariffs, boosting wages, unleashing opportunities for UK businesses. It is the biggest trade deal the UK has delivered since we left the EU.'

Sir Keir revisited the deal when he clashed with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over plans to make winter fuel payments means tested. After he asked if would admit he was 'wrong to remove the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners', he said: 'The number one job of this Government was to put our finances back in order after the last government lost control...

Keir Starmer said further 'Because of the work that we have done, we are a country that countries like India want to do deals with, because of the messages and the work that we have done.'

However, there is another issue where Downing Street was unable to provide estimates of how the UK-India trade deal may impact immigration or tax-take in Britain. Asked whether there was an assessment on the impact on migration numbers of the agreement, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We don't do individual line-by-line assessments on free trade deals.

'We do an overall impact assessment on the impact of a trade deal on the economy obviously, and the ONS and others, the OBR… will continue to do their analysis as well and provide the usual updates on immigration figures.'

He said the national insurance exemption for some Indian workers applied to a 'specific, business mobility, intra-company transfer schemes' and not wider migration.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds this morning said critics of the deal were 'confused' and suggested unhappy Tories were jealous they had not managed to achieve a deal when they were in government.

Unsurprisingly, there was no mention of this own goal in any UK government announcement. But Narendra Modi proudly announced it himself and exposed what Keir Starmer tried to bury from the British public.

Labour tried to cover it up, but it was never going to work when the Indian government was so delighted with its negotiating victory. They've been caught in the act. It means India's biggest win is flooding the UK market with its people.

Bizarrely, under this deal, yoga teachers, buskers and takeaway chefs now qualify as skilled labour – meaning they will also be able to bring their dependents. Keir Starmer seems determined to make us the soft touch immigration capital of the world and never misses an opportunity to surrender.

Already, because of Labour's choices, business confidence is tanking, prices are up and growth is down, all while immigration and taxes are at record highs. In Labour's desperation to try and undo some of the damage they have levelled on British businesses, they risk making everything significantly worse.