Sir Keir Starmer has been told to “come clean” on the true cost of the Chagos surrender after Mauritius suggested he has made concessions on the deal to get it over the line.
With a second Donald Trump White House just days away, Mauritian negotiator Gavin Glover has vowed he had not left “empty-handed” from talks in London – where the Foreign Office said “good progress has been made” yesterday.
Trump is said to be vehemently opposed to the deal – and it appears that the Labour Government is attempting to push one through before he retakes office.
With £9billion said to be on the table to lease a UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, Glover’s words will doubtless send speculation soaring that Downing Street is readying up to hand Mauritius even more money to surrender the British land.
As a result, Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel has warned Labour “must urgently come clean on what exactly this surrender is going to cost us”.
Starmer is said to want to get a deal before Trump retakes office
PA/REUTERS
Dame Priti Patel has warned Labour ‘must urgently come clean on what exactly this surrender is going to cost us’
PA
While Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith told GB News that Rachel Reeves was “spaffing away” £9billion on the giveaway.
Patel added: “The surrender of our sovereignty over Chagos not only leaves us exposed to greater security threats, but it is economically illiterate.
“At a time when public spending is under serious pressure, they are also signing up to spend billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money leasing back a site that is currently under our sovereignty.”
Starmer had agreed to hand over the strategic territory to Mauritius late last year – but then, the island nation voted out the government which shook hands with Labour on the deal.
MORE ON THE CHAGOS GIVEAWAY:
Sir Keir Starmer had agreed to hand over the strategic territory to Mauritius late last year
REUTERS
New PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam then proceeded to immediately reject the terms in order to sniff out a better deal from Britain.
Downing Street is said to be open to front-loading instalments of the £9billion fee to Mauritius so it can gain access to British taxpayers’ cash more quickly.
Mauritian negotiator Glover said just days ago: “We had a productive meeting in London and have not come empty-handed from London.”
The subsequent UK-Mauritius joint statement said: “Both countries reiterated their commitment to concluding a treaty providing that Mauritius is sovereign over the Chagos Archipelago, and that would ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the base on Diego Garcia.”
Navinchandra Ramgoolam immediately rejected Britain’s terms when he was elected
GETTY
However, Mauritius continues to demand “fair and equitable compensation” for the use of Diego Garcia, beyond the £90million a year on offer.
Ramgoolam has reportedly demanded £800million a year for as long as Britain wants to keep hold of the base, along with billions more in “reparations”.
But Donald Trump is said to want to veto the deal on the grounds that it will undermine American security.
Meanwhile, Reform UK leader and key Trump ally Nigel Farage has warned the deal will be met with “outright hostility” by the President-elect when he reclaims power.
