Keir Starmer set to sign multi-billion pound Chagos deal to hand over islands to Mauritius
by Jennifer Kennedy · LBCBy Jennifer Kennedy
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to sign off on the Chagos Islands deal on Thursday after it appeared to be on hold for several weeks due to political difficulties.
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Under the terms of the deal, the UK is expected to give up sovereignty of the island territory to Mauritius, and lease back a crucial military base on the archipelago for an initial period of 99 years in exchange for a multi-billion pound payment.
The government has argued that it has to give up sovereignty over the islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, due to international legal rulings in favour of Mauritius.
Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands, is home to a joint UK-US military base, used to project Western influence in the Indian Ocean.
The Prime Minister is due to attend a virtual ceremony alongside representatives from the Mauritian government on Thursday morning to sign off on the deal, according to The Telegraph.
Following the signing ceremony, MPs will be updated on the terms of the deal in the House of Commons, which could include a 40-year extension to the lease of the military base, the Telegraph said.
The deal will reportedly also include a scheme for Chagossians, the native people of the Chagos Islands, who wish to return there.
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The deal previously appeared to have been put on hold after the government faced backlash over its cost, with the Times claiming it had become "toxic" amid criticism from Labour's political opponents.
The government has not confirmed the exact cost of the deal, but it has been speculated that it could cost £90million per year for as long as the lease on Diego Garcia lasts.
Critics of proposals to hand over the islands to Mauritius fear the move will benefit China, which has a growing reach in the region.
The Conservatives are among those which have criticised Labour's handling of the negotiations, though they began discussing the handover with Mauritius when they were in power in 2022.
Conservative sources say the governments of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak never intended to give away the islands.
Changes in the administration of both Mauritius and the United States delayed the progress of the deal.
The election of US President Donald Trump caused delays as negotiators wanted to give the new administration time to examine the details of the deal.
Although the deal was supported by Joe Biden’s administration, Foreign Office officials became concerned that Donald Trump would try to force Britain to abandon it after he won November’s presidential election.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was one of several high-ranking Republications who warned the deal posed a "serious threat" to US national security, due to Mauritius' strong diplomatic relationship with China.
However, Downing Street confirmed in early April that the deal was being "finalised" after Donald Trump gave the deal his backing.
Speaking in the the House of Commons just this week, Defence Secretary John Healey insisted the base on Diego Garcia was "essential to our security", and the UK's security relationship with the US.
"We've had to act, as the previous government started to do, to deal with that jeopardy, we're completing those arrangements and we'll report to the House when we can," he added.
Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said of the deal: “It seems Keir Starmer is now set on further humiliating this country by handing over our own sovereign territory to Mauritius, and then asking the British public to pay billions for the indignity of it. Whenever Labour negotiates, Britain loses."
Britain purchased the Chagos Islands for £3 million in 1965, but Mauritius has argued that it was illegally forced to give the islands away as part of a deal to get independence from Britain.
The UK has recently come under growing international pressure to return the islands to Mauritius. The United Nations' top court and general assembly both sided with Mauritius over sovereignty claims.
The tiny archipelago in the centre of the Indian Ocean has strategic importance for both the British and American militaries, and has been used by both countries for bombing runs in the Middle East.