London: The UK government has defended the BBC as an “independent in its output” media outlet amid widespread protests by Indian expats over a controversial documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed reporters on Wednesday and echoed a statement made earlier in the week by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, stressing that the UK continues to consider India an important international partner. The government plans to heavily invest in the relationship with India in the coming decades. The Foreign Secretary, James cleverly, made a similar statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday in response to a question about the UK’s stance on the documentary and the protests. He made it clear that the BBC is independent in its output and the UK considers India a significant international partner. The Minister was responding to a question from Tory MP Bob Blackman, who called the documentary “anti-India propaganda.” During the India Global Forum’s UK-India Parliamentary Lunch last week, Cleverly met with the Indian High Commissioner and spoke about strengthening bilateral ties across all spheres, including trade negotiations.