Some of Britain’s top bosses have been left frustrated after being told by Downing Street that they cannot accompany Boris Johnson when he travels to India next month.

Sky News has learnt that officials have informed business leaders with growth ambitions in India that the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has made it impractical for the prime minister to be accompanied by a large-scale delegation of the kind usually associated with such trips.

Next month’s visit will be the first major overseas trade mission undertaken by Mr Johnson since he became PM in 2019.

Major UK companies with sizeable market opportunities in India were hopeful that a limited delegation from industries such as banking, energy, pharmaceuticals and technology would be able to travel with the PM.

Sources said on Monday, however, that those hopes had effectively been extinguished by Downing Street officials in the last couple of weeks.

One business leader said there had been “a series of mixed messages” from No 10 on the issue, and said it was possible that there would be a further change of stance.

“Coronavirus is an understandable logistical obstacle but it’s harder to present a convincing case for a ‘Global Britain’ without any flagship companies represented on the trip,” one executive said.

David Cameron’s premiership was punctuated by overseas trade missions accompanied by scores of corporate figures, although Theresa May preferred more modest entourages of business leaders.

Mr Johnson is nevertheless expected to announce a string of corporate deals during his visit to India at the end of next month.

The news that Mr Johnson is unlikely to take a business delegation has emerged the day before he hosts a meeting of his Build Back Better business council, which includes dozens of top bosses.

A No 10 spokesman declined to comment.

Related posts:

Tracking technology company Buddi banks on £500m float Bank of England’s chief economist announces new role Buoyant IPO markets propel Peel Hunt towards £350m float Game of Thrones maker HBO and Warner Bros film studio spun off in $43bn deal Bicycle brand Ribble gets into gear for sale as industry sales surge Heathrow says it has slipped from number one to tenth place among Europe’s airports Advent and wealth fund brew up joint £4bn bid for Unilever tea arm Tesco launches reusable packaging trial – as Waitrose scraps single-use plastic bags from deliveries Heathrow says business travellers cancelling flights over testing rule fears High street banks commit to cash access guarantee amid branch closures row UK workers facing ‘worst Christmas wage squeeze in almost a decade’ Unilever shares fall as it defends £50bn approach for GSK’s Aquafresh to Panadol consumer arm