Starmer insists Chagos deal necessary to safeguard national security
Starmer insists Chagos deal necessary to safeguard national security
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Sir Keir Starmer warned national security could be put at risk without a deal to give “legal certainty” over the status of the Chagos Islands and the strategically important Diego Garcia military base. The UK has denied the cost of handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius could rise to £18 billion and disputed claims made by the Mauritian Prime Minister about the renegotiated deal. Sir Keir’s Government plans to hand the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius but pay to lease back the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.
The Government argues that international legal rulings on sovereignty over the archipelago mean the UK has to cede the islands to Mauritius. At Prime Minister’s Questions – in response to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s claim the plan was an “immoral surrender” – Sir Keir said Diego Garcia was “vital to our national security” but “a number of years ago the legal certainty of that base was thrown into doubt”.
“Without legal certainty, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should,” he told MPs. “That is bad for our national security and it’s a gift for our adversaries.”. Sir Keir pointed out to Mrs Badenoch that negotiations on sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory began under the Conservatives and said “some within the party opposite know exactly what I’m talking about”.
The secretive base is used by nuclear-capable US bombers and nuclear-powered submarines. Sir Keir suggested Mrs Badenoch had not been fully briefed about the issues and had not requested a briefing on the Chagos Islands from him. “If the Leader of the Opposition is properly briefed on the national security implications, when she is asking these questions – which she is perfectly entitled to do – then she knows exactly what I am talking about in terms of national security and legal certainty.
