Lord Dannatt, former chief of the general staff, said it is “very hard to find good news” in the prime minister’s deal to cede control of the Indian Ocean archipelago, and raised questions about how the agreement would be paid for.
And Lord Dannatt told Times Radio: “If we think we can find 18 billion pounds to buy off Mauritius, frankly, there are much better uses for that £18bn, not the least of which is on the army and on UK defence to spend on things that really matter to us.
Sir Keir Starmer should scrap his plans to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and consider ceding control to the US instead, the former head of the British army has said.
Asked whether Sir Keir should give the US control of the archipelago, Lord Dannatt said: “I think to be honest, that's something that should be explored.
Instead, the crossbench peer said Sir Keir should explore handing control of the Chagos Islands to the US, adding that it is in the Americans’ interests to maintain control of it.
