Fresh Chagos chaos as Labour insists handover deal isn't 'paused'

Labour sparked fresh confusion over its Chagos Islands 'surrender' today after a minister 'misspoke' and told MPs the Government is 'pausing' the process.

Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister, informed the House of Commons of a temporary halt on the handover of the strategically-vital archipelago to Mauritius.

He said the process of confirming the deal in law is being suspended while further talks are held with America.

It comes after US President Donald Trump last week urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to scrap the proposed sovereignty agreement with Mauritius.

But Mr Falconer was contradicted by Government officials who insisted there is no pause on the deal.

They stressed the Government had never set a deadline for completing the parliamentary process for approving the handover.

A senior Government source said that Mr Falconer 'misspoke' in the Commons on Wednesday afternoon.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch repeated her demand for Labour to 'chuck the Chagos surrender' in the wake of Mr Falconer's comments.

'Handing over British territory and paying millions a year to lease it back is indefensible,' Mrs Badenoch added.

The £35billion deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius - including a plan to lease back the UK-US military base on the largest island of Diego Garcia - has been heavily criticised by Mr Trump.

The US President has branded the deal as a 'big mistake' and urged Sir Keir: 'Do not give away Diego Garcia.'

Mr Falconer said the US had backed the deal but that there had been a 'very significant' statement from Mr Trump since then. 

He told MPs: 'There was support from the US administration for this treaty, which has not changed.

'There clearly has been a statement from the president of the United States more recently, which is very significant.'

He said the Government was 'now discussing those concerns with the United States directly'.

The Foreign Office minister added: 'We will we have a process going through Parliament in relation to the treaty.

'We will bring that back to Parliament at the appropriate time. We are pausing for discussions with our American counterparts.'

Government officials said there was no pause in the passage of the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill.

The legislation had been nearing the end of its parliamentary passage but has not been debated since January 20.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'There is no pause. We have never set a deadline.

'Timings will be announced in the usual way.

'We are continuing discussions with the US and we have been clear we will not proceed without their support.'

Senior Tory MP Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, is in Washington DC and said she was lobbying senior White House figures on the issue.

'The Chagos surrender deal is an appalling act of betrayal,' she said. 'It undermines our national security and that of our allies, including the United States.

Dame Priti added: 'Now it is time for Keir Starmer to face reality and kill this shameful surrender once and for all before it does any more damage.'

In a speech to the Hudson Institute in Washington DC later on Wednesday, Dame Priti hailed the actions of Mr Trump over the Chagos Islands deal.

'If it were not for the intervention of the President of the United States and the forensic deconstruction of this terrible Labour policy by my party in Parliament, this sovereign territory would be in the hands of the government of Mauritius,' she said.

'Together, the UK and America, that’s my party and the American administration, have worked to delay the ratification of this terrible legislation.

'And I want to thank the White House team for listening to the calls of their British Conservative allies to stop this appalling surrender.'

Under the terms of Sir Keir's Chagos Islands deal, Britain is paying Mauritius to lease back the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia for 99 years.

The Chagos Islands have been a British overseas territory for more than 200 years.

But Labour insisted it had to strike a deal to protect the Diego Garcia base after the International Court of Justice ruled the UK's administration of the islands was 'unlawful'.

Opponents of the handover have expressed concern that Mauritius is an ally of China.