Labour urges Boris Johnson to cancel India trip amid coronavirus surge

The leaders of the UK’s Labour party have urged the Prime Minister to "set an example" and cancel his upcoming trip to India amid a surge of coronavirus cases in the country.

Boris Johnson is scheduled to visit India on April 25, marking the first-ever major overseas visit since he took charge of Number 10.

The trip was initially supposed to last for four days, but his office has now cut short the trip and has limited his travel options.

"There are new variants emerging all around the world. The government is telling people don’t travel if you don’t absolutely have to travel. I can’t see why the prime minister can’t conduct his business with the Indian government by Zoom," Steve Reed, the shadow communities secretary told the Sky news.

Concerns about his trip rose as India registered more than 260,000 coronavirus cases within 24 hours. The Indian variant of the virus has also shaken the world with a new surge,and many scientists have warned the PM against this new variant.

Health experts of the country have also urged the Prime Minister to place a ban on travellers from India and have advised that India should be placed on the 'red list'.

"The decision to add and remove countries from the red list is informed by the latest scientific data and public health advice from a world-leading range of experts," a No 10 spokesperson said. "As with all our coronavirus measures, we keep the red list under constant review and our priority remains to protect the health of the UK public. We will not hesitate to introduce tougher restrictions if necessary."