Tories warn Labour's Chagos deal 'undermining Special Relationship'

Keir Starmer's threat to block the US from using British bases to launch bombing raids against Iran is undermining the Special Relationship with the US, Priti Patel will warn.

The shadow foreign secretary will use a speech in Washington on Wednesday to urge Donald Trump to stand firm in his opposition to Labour's Chagos Islands giveaway.

She will warn that the deal – which is stalled following the US President's latest intervention – is placing strain on a security relationship with Washington that has kept the West safe for decades.

And she will accuse the Prime Minister of further aggravating Mr Trump by threatening to veto the use of British bases, including the Diego Garcia base in the Chagos Islands for a possible attack on Iran.

Diplomatic sources told the Mail last week that Sir Keir has warned the US President against launching bombing raids from Diego Garcia or RAF Fairford because of concerns it could break international law.

Officials believe the move has triggered Mr Trump's latest attack on Sir Keir's plan to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and then lease back Diego Garcia at a cost of up to £35 billion over the next century.

In a speech at the Hudson Institute think tank, Dame Priti will say: 'Labour's Chagos surrender and their approach to the use of the Diego Garcia base threatens the future of our Special Relationship by undermining that century of cooperation, goodwill, trust and friendship.

'We simply cannot afford to put our defence and security at risk with this surrender of sovereignty. Because once we do that, there is no turning back.

'And once Labour weakens UK control over Chagos and Diego Garcia, they weaken our Special Relationship.'

Ministers have warned that legal action by Mauritius in in the international court could eventually undermine the operation of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia.

But Dame Priti will dismiss the legal threats as 'international lawfare, orchestrated by politically motivated Left-wing lawyers, judges and 'activists'.

In an angry post on social media last week, Mr Trump warned that Sir Keir was making a 'big mistake' by 'losing control of this important island'.

The US is amassing a huge armada off the coast of Iran as he piles pressure on the Islamic regime.

In his message last week, Mr Trump said that if Iran refuses to strike a deal it 'may be necessary' to use planes from Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford, home to the US Air Forces heavy bomber fleet in Europe.

He suggested bombing raids may be needed to head off 'potential attack' on Western countries, including the UK, 'by a highly unstable and dangerous regime.'

Mr Trump warned that the proposed lease deal with Mauritius was 'tenuous at best', adding: 'Do not give away Diego Garcia'.

Dame Priti will say that without President Trump's intervention and opposition at home the Chagos Islands would already 'be in the hands of the government of Mauritius'.

Downing Street is now scrambling to get President Trump back on board. A spokesman this week acknowledged that the deal could not go ahead if it is opposed by the US.

The spokesman said: 'The deal is not only for our national security but also that of our closest ally, the US.

'We have been clear we won't proceed without their support.'