The Chagos Islands are home to a UK-US base, which will be leased back from Mauritius (Image: -)
There is still time to abandon the deal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and hold onto the sovereignty of a key military base, according to former defence secretaries and foreign policy experts. The plan to hand over sovereignty and lease back the Diego Garcia base has been denounced by Donald Trump as an “act of great stupidity” and pressure is building for Parliament to refuse to ratify the deal.
Former defence secretary Sir Gavin Williamson said: “The Government still has time to see sense and stop this dangerous and damaging move to hand over our sovereign territory to a state that is influenced by the likes of China and Russia. The Prime Minister needs to make this move, but he has to do it quickly, in all of our interests.” The legislation to make the agreement between the UK and Mauritius a reality is in its final stages of parliamentary approval.
But ex-defence secretary Dame Penny Mordaunt said: “It is within the power of Parliament to refuse to ratify this treaty.
“Non-ratification effectively prevents its international legal effect binding the UK. This might be diplomatically difficult, but much preferable to being unable to conduct operations from the base, which if you read the treaty and its annexes, is the inevitable consequence.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said: “Keir Starmer’s shameful Chagos-China surrender is putting our national security at risk and undermining our position on the international stage… It isn’t too late for the Government to see sense, listen to our allies and change course.”
Mr Trump has blasted Britain’s decision to “give away” the territory for “no reason whatsoever”, describing this as “an act of great stupidity”.
Downing Street has insisted the deal, which was welcomed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May last year, will go ahead.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer said the US had changed position because Mr Trump wants Britain to stop opposing American efforts to take control of Greenland, claiming: “He wants me to yield on my position and I’m not going to do so.”
But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who warns the deal will cost the UK billions of pounds, said: “Why doesn’t he just scrap this terrible deal and put the money into our armed forces?”
Dame Penny Mordaunt is pushing for a U-turn (Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
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Many opponents of the deal fear not just for the potential impact on UK security but are concerned for people whose families have inhabited the islands, and argue the deal does not respect their right to determine their future.
Romford MP Andrew Rosindell – who has defected from the Conservatives to Reform MP in part at disappointment at the “failure” of the Tories to hold the Government to account on the issue – said: “This is one of the worst deals in modern British history and a total betrayal of the Chagossians’ right to self-determination.
“The previous Conservative government got us into this mess, and despite my attempts over two decades, as well as from inside the shadow foreign affairs team, to argue for self-determination, the Conservative Party never, and still do not support the right of the British Chagossian people to determine their own future.”
He added: “There’s still time for this Government to see sense, stop this shameful surrender and allow the Chagossians to have a say over their own future.”
Alan Mendoza, co-founder of the Henry Jackson Society, urged Sir Keir Starmer to U-turn.
He said: “There is always time to abandon a bad deal before it is completed. All the Government needs do is explain that it has listened to the concerns of security experts, parliamentarians, its allies and the Chagossians themselves and has now concluded that we would be best served to maintain possession of the islands after all.
“The lesson to learn from this debacle is simple: don’t make unforced errors and don’t place a greater emphasis on advisory international law than real UK security needs.”
The deal is opposed by those who want Chagossians to have a stronger voice on their future (Image: AFP via Getty)
Professor Richard Ekins, of the Policy Exchange think tank, said: “His Majesty’s Government cannot lawfully ratify the agreement with Mauritius unless and until Parliament enacts the Diego Garcia Bill. It remains open to the Government at any point before ratification to choose to walk away from this shameful deal, which Policy Exchange has argued for years is an act of strategic self-harm.
“Throughout this debacle, the Government has failed to stand on the UK’s sovereign rights, to resist the abuse of international institutions, to stand up for the Chagossians, or to protect the priceless marine environment of the Archipelago. The ongoing parliamentary process provides an opportunity for the Government to change course – and Donald Trump’s change of mind about the merits of the deal provides an obvious rationale for the Government now to walk away from the deal, which it has always said would only go ahead if the American administration supported it.”
