The Foreign Secretary has dismissed claims that Britain is "turning a blind eye" to the detention and alleged torture of a Scottish Sikh blogger in India.
Speaking at Westminster, Lord Ahmed of Wimbledon, who was working on the Jagtar Singh Johal case, insisted that progress had been made.
His response claimed the UK government was ignoring the 35-year-old's plight when negotiating trade deals.
Mr Johal, from Dumbarton, was attending a wedding in Punjab, northern India, in 2017 when his family said he was arrested and taken away in an unmarked vehicle.
He said he was tortured, including electrocuted, and faced the death penalty for his activism and campaigning for Sikh human rights.
We talk about the importance of freedom of expression. Will the Minister agree that if we decide to turn a blind eye to a trade deal with India, it is hypocritical?
Lord Singh of Wimbledon
Lord Singh of Wimbledon, a former presenter of BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day programme, campaigned for the government in Parliament and said Mr Johal was a British blogger "who looks at India's ongoing human rights abuses against minorities".
The freedom fighter told the chamber: “For this he has been imprisoned and tortured in Indian jails for years and faces the death penalty.
Highlighting the ongoing negotiations between the UK and India over Mr Johal's fate, he asked the minister: "What has really been achieved?
“We talk about the importance of freedom of expression. Will the Minister agree that if we decide to turn a blind eye to a trade deal with India, it is hypocritical? »
The British government is totally opposed to the death penalty. The Indian authorities were fully aware of the British position in this regard.
Lord Ahmed of Wimbledon
In response Mr. "I assure him that we will not turn away," Ahmad said.
“Our relationship with India is strong. It is a relationship between friends and constructive partners.
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"Much of that is because we invest in the relationships that allow us to address sensitive issues and issues, including this particular case and others."
He added: "I think we are making progress. Of course, I am completely with the family, and the long incarceration has caused them great, great pain and is still causing them great pain.
“Regarding the death penalty, the British government is totally opposed to it. The Indian authorities are fully aware of the British position in this regard.
A panel of UN legal experts said Mr Johal's detention was arbitrary, "unlawful" and "discriminatory" based on his Sikhism and "status as a human rights defender".
The UN said the appropriate resolution would be to immediately release Mr Johal and give him the right to reparations and other reparations in accordance with international law.
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