UK negotiating strategy risks bad Brexit trade deal with India, parliamentary committee warns

International Agreements Committee warns of dangers of ‘arbitary’ Diwali deadline

Ministers are desperate to sign new free trade agreements to make up for the damage done to UK trade by Brexit (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The government's rushed negotiating strategy for getting a Brexit free trade agreement (FTA) with India risks a bad deal, a parliamentary committee has warned.

The House of Lords International Agreements Committee said an "arbitrary" deadline to reach an agreement by the Hindu festival of Diwali made the approach seem "overly ambitious or unrealistic".

The Department for International Trade (DIT) said it was making "good progress" on its bid to finish talks by the deadline.