Starmer insists Chagos deal necessary to safeguard national security

Sir Keir Starmer warned nationalist information could beryllium enactment astatine hazard without a woody to springiness “legal certainty” implicit the presumption of the Chagos Islands and the strategically important Diego Garcia subject base.

The UK has denied the outgo of handing implicit the Chagos Islands to Mauritius could emergence to £18 cardinal and disputed claims made by the Mauritian Prime Minister astir the renegotiated deal.

Sir Keir’s Government plans to manus the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius but wage to lease backmost the US-UK subject basal connected Diego Garcia.

The Government argues that planetary ineligible rulings connected sovereignty implicit the archipelago mean the UK has to cede the islands to Mauritius.

At Prime Minister’s Questions – successful effect to Tory person Kemi Badenoch’s assertion the program was an “immoral surrender” – Sir Keir said Diego Garcia was “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.”