The UK government appears to be divided over the issue of outsourcing.

At an interactive session with visiting delegation of British members of Parliament organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (eastern region), the difference in opinion was apparent.

Responding to queries from the gathering, Jackie Lawrence, a member of Parliament spoke in favour of outsourcing. She said that the UK government should not practice any form of protectionism and should adopt a long-term approach.

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"We cannot compete with labour costs and these jobs are still growing in the UK" she added.

However, her colleague Julie Morgan said that her constituency was suffering from outsourcing and jobs were being lost.

"Politically it is very difficult for me to speak in favour of outsourcing" she said.

Atri Bhattacharya, executive director West Bengal Industrial and Development Corporation (WBIDC), made a presentation on West Bengal to the visiting Parliamentarians. He pointed out in each of the last four years, the state had attracted more than Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion).

Sanjay Budhia, chairman CII (ER), said UK was India's second largest trading partner and accounts for 5.7 per cent of India's total foreign trade.

More than 250 Indian companies had a presence in UK and India was the eighth largest investor in UK in terms of number of projects.