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Your London correspondent claims that the U.K. is protectionist (“India-U.K. trade: a success story with rough edges,” Feb. 26). This is despite the 2007 Index of Economic Freedom (published by Washington’s Heritage Foundation) making the U.K. the freest economy of any major country in the world. Ratan Tata has publicly praised the freedom of enterprise and lack of government interference in the U.K., and there are more Indian companies listed on the London Stock Exchange than on the NSYE and NASDAQ combined.

Your correspondent claims that part of this protectionism is manifested in our visa regime. This is despite the fact that about one fifth of global demand for U.K. visas is from India. Last year over 345,000 visas were issued, including almost 29,000 work permits and over 2500 highly skilled migrant visas.

Far from hampering business travellers, we are encouraging them. UKvisas operates a successful Business Express Programme in India through which those working for nearly 300 businesses receive an expedited visa service with visas issued within 4 days, including longer term visas of up to 10 years validity.

And the new Points Based System (to be rolled out in April this year) will help legitimate business travellers — not the reverse, as your article suggested. It will consolidate and simplify the existing visa-issuing system and make the process more transparent. Some points in the article were simply wrong: for example, there are no plans to introduce quotas as part of the points based system.

I recognise that there are profound changes taking place in our visa system. These are designed to make travel to the U.K. simpler, and the immigration rules more transparent, while protecting the U.K. from people with ill intent.

Meanwhile, British banks are prevented from opening all but a small number of branches in India — while the U.K. is an open market; and the brightest Indian lawyers are flocking to work in London because international law companies cannot operate here.

Sir Richard Stagg,

British High Commissioner, New Delhi

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