External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on 1 March told his British counterpart James Cleverly that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations, after the latter raised the BBC tax surveys issue during a meeting with the minister, reported news agency ANI.

Cleverly, who is in India to attend a crucial meeting of the G20 foreign ministers on 1-2 March, also held bilateral talks on a range of issues including ways to expand two-way engagement in a number of areas.

"UK Foreign Secretary brought up the BBC tax issue with EAM today. He was firmly told that all entities operating in India must comply fully with relevant laws and regulations," ANI quoted an Indian government official a saying.

The British Foreign Minister, on being asked to share the details of the meeting with Jaishankar, said, as quoted by Reuters, "The conversations I had with him are best to keep with him. I did raise it."

"One of the advantages of having such a strong and professional relationship with Dr. Jaishankar is I am able to bring up, and indeed he brings up with me, some of these sensitive issues. I did raise it with him," he said, adding, the vast bulk of the conversation was about the positive bilateral work.

Apart from this, he said, "The hallmark of a positive relationship is that you can discuss the sensitive and difficult issues and it doesn’t derail us from talking about the really, really positive agenda that we are both hoping to pursue."

On the issue of civil liberties in India, Cleverly said, "We want to ensure that values that both our countries feel strongly about are upheld. That means working together on a range of issues."

Earlier in February, Indian tax authorities carried out surveys at the BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. This took place against the backdrop of a controversy over a documentary released by the British Broadcaster about the 2002 Gujarat riots.