London: Former UK home secretary Priti Patel has told a podcast that Britain’s failure to secure the extradition of fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi hindered efforts to have illegal Indian nationals returned to India while she led the Home Office.
Priti Patel, who served from 2019 to 2022, made the comments in the fourth episode of Diamond King, a four-part podcast on Nirav Modi produced by the Daily Telegraph. The series traced Modi to London in 2019. The episode is due to be released on Friday.
Surprised By Delay
Patel said she authorised Modi’s extradition in 2021 and said she was “astonished” he remained in the UK seven years after he first arrived. She told the programme that Indian officials were “hugely angry” at Britain’s delay in sending him back, and that Delhi had “really pushed back” when asked to accept Indian nationals who had exhausted their asylum claims or overstayed.
“I had a hell of a challenge getting India to sign off on receiving failed asylum-seekers, and I’m convinced it’s because we had a high-profile case of Nirav,” Patel said.
Problems Verifying Names
Patel also alleged that India refused to accept charter flights carrying illegal migrants and had “problems verifying” names provided by British authorities. She added, “Nirav should be in prison in India serving his time there.”
Nirav Modi, 55, remains in Pentonville prison in London. He has reportedly spent more than £1 million on legal challenges to block his extradition, and recent media reports said he lost a bid at the European Court of Human Rights to halt the process. Despite those reports, he has not yet been extradited.
Both the ECHR and the UK Home Office declined to comment. Edward Fitzgerald KC, Nirav Modi’s barrister, told The Times of India: “We fight on whatever happens.”
Dispute Over Numbers & Cooperation
There is no official tally of illegal Indian migrants in the UK; a widely cited 2018 estimate put the figure at about 100,000, a number India then disputed. In May 2021 India and the UK signed a Migration and Mobility Memorandum of Understanding intended to facilitate returns of illegal residents.
Kuldeep Shekhawat, head of Overseas Friends of BJP UK and Europe, rejected Patel’s claim, saying: “This is not true. India is taking back illegal migrants. India has never opposed that.” He added: “India does not support illegal migration in any part of the world.”