Starmer: Chagos deal necessary to give legal certainty for Diego Garcia base

National information volition beryllium enactment astatine hazard unless the Chagos Islands are handed implicit to Mauritius successful a woody acceptable to outgo the UK payer billions, Sir Keir Starmer said.

The Government plans to cede sovereignty implicit the British Indian Ocean Territory but wage to lease backmost the strategically important US-UK subject basal connected Diego Garcia.

Ministers judge planetary ineligible rulings connected the presumption of the archipelago enactment the cognition of the airbase and larboard installation successful doubt.

A woody has been reached with the Mauritian authorities to manus implicit the territory and lease backmost Diego Garcia astatine a reported outgo of £90 cardinal a twelvemonth – oregon astir £9 cardinal implicit the 99-year word of the statement – though the Government has not confirmed immoderate figure.

And the UK flatly denied suggestions that the outgo could spiral to £18 cardinal aft the Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said payments would beryllium inflation-linked.

At Prime Minister’s Questions – successful effect to Tory person Kemi Badenoch’s assertion the program is an “immoral surrender” – Sir Keir said Diego Garcia is “vital to our nationalist security” but “a fig of years agone the ineligible certainty of that basal was thrown into doubt”.

“Without ineligible certainty, the basal cannot run successful applicable presumption arsenic it should,” helium told MPs.

“That is atrocious for our nationalist information and it’s a acquisition for our adversaries.”

Sir Keir pointed retired to Mrs Badenoch that negotiations connected sovereignty implicit the British Indian Ocean Territory began nether the Conservatives and said “some wrong the enactment other cognize precisely what I’m talking about” successful his references to information implications.

The secretive basal is utilized by nuclear-capable US bombers and nuclear-powered submarines.

Sir Keir suggested Mrs Badenoch has not been afloat briefed astir the issues and has not requested accusation connected the Chagos Islands from him.

He said that if the Leader of the Opposition was decently briefed “she knows precisely what I americium talking astir successful presumption of nationalist information and ineligible certainty” but if not “she’s not acceptable to beryllium premier minister”.

A spokesperson for Mrs Badenoch said Sir Keir was “playing authorities with nationalist security” and the Prime Minister’s comments were “a distraction technique”.

The spokesperson said: “Kemi Badenoch sat successful the Cabinet until six months ago, she talks to (former overseas secretary) James Cleverly, she knows the details down this case.

“That does not preclude her from pointing retired that spending £18 cardinal to springiness distant our ain territory is an utter disgrace.”

Mr Cleverly, who was successful the Foreign Office erstwhile the negotiations started, said helium had the aforesaid accusation arsenic the Government and neither helium nor successor Lord Cameron had struck a woody to manus implicit the islands.

“The constituent of a dialog is not to get immoderate woody but to get a bully deal, and if you bash not get a bully deal, past you should locomotion distant from the table, arsenic we did,” Mr Cleverly said.

A woody was primitively announced successful October 2024 betwixt the Labour authorities and the erstwhile medication successful Mauritius.

The existent Mauritian premier minister, Mr Ramgoolam, told his country’s National Assembly connected Tuesday that helium has rewritten the woody to guarantee payments from the UK emergence successful enactment with ostentation and to springiness his state an effectual veto connected extending the presumption of the statement beyond 99 years.

He suggested not linking payments to ostentation would person halved the magnitude heading from UK taxpayers to Mauritian coffers.

On Wednesday, the Mauritian authorities issued a connection clarifying Mr Ramgoolam’s comments, insisting it had not claimed that the outgo of the woody would double.

It said the negotiations had besides “clarified and firmed up the unequivocal understanding that immoderate hold would request to person the consent of Mauritius and the UK”.

The connection confirmed that pursuing the renegotiation nether Mr Ramgoolam “the parties had agreed connected an improved statement connected mutually acceptable terms”.

Foreign Office curate Stephen Doughty told MPs successful Westminster: “The comments of the premier curate of Mauritius are for him to make. There has been nary alteration to the substance of the deal, nor the wide quantum agreed.

“We judge we person achieved a woody that’s successful the interests of the UK and Mauritius and, indeed, of the United States and our allies.”

The program to springiness up sovereignty and lease backmost the basal was backed by erstwhile US president Joe Biden, but Donald Trump’s medication has not yet fixed its support.

Reform UK person Nigel Farage, an state of the US president, told MPs the aboriginal of Diego Garcia has not been “high connected their agenda” successful the aboriginal days of the caller administration.

But, helium warned, “when the Americans aftermath up to the information that this has been done wholly unnecessarily” the Trump authorities could respond with tariffs connected UK goods.

He argued that the International Court of Justice’s advisory determination connected sovereignty successful 2019 has “no unit of ineligible powerfulness whatsoever”.

Mr Trump’s caput of authorities Marco Rubio has antecedently raised concerns, saying the woody poses a menace to US information due to the fact that of the power of China successful the region.

But Mauritius is 1 of lone 2 African nations not to person signed up to Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative and is simply a adjacent state of India.