Reform ‘hypocrite’ blasted as letter to Joe Biden about Chagos Islands emerges
Andrew Rosindell, who defected to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK at the weekend, wrote to Joe Biden in December 2020 saying failure to ‘decolonise’ the Chagos Islands was causing international anger
Tory turncoat Andrew Rosindell wrote to Joe Biden in 2020(Image: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
A Reform defector has been accused of a “staggering act of hypocrisy” for griping about the Chagos Islands deal despite begging Joe Biden for an almost identical agreement.
Andrew Rosindell penned a letter in 2020 warning Mr Biden that failure to “decolonise” Chagos was causing international anger. He voiced his hopes that the US would help bring an end to “historic injustices” – and said Britain was committed to returning the islands to Mauritius.
At the weekend Mr Rosindell quit the Tories for Reform, claiming Conservative failure to hold the Government to account over Chagos was a “clear red line” for him.
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But back in December 2020, when Mr Biden was President-elect, Mr Rosindell assured the American leader that it would not impact US national security. He wrote that the plight of the Chagossian people “remains a shameful blot on the UK’s human rights record and by association that of the US”.
Mr Rosindell wrote: “Now is a propitious time to re-assess the long-term security and strategy of this vitally important joint base in the Indian Ocean. There is a need for a radical rethink of policy towards resettlement and the future of the Chagos Islands by the UK.
“Failure to recognise the right to self-determination and to decolonise Chagos is now the focus of international opprobrium which shows no sign of dissipating.”
His letter, written in his role as chairman of the Chagos Islands All Party Parliamentary Group, said US security interests would not be threatened by Mauritian sovereignty. And he said the UK remained committed to returning the islands to Mauritius when it was not needed for defence purposes.
The UK has agreed to transfer Chagos to Mauritius and lease back the island of Diego Garcia – where a US military base is located – for 99 years. Mr Rosindale assured Mr Biden: “The main interest of the United States is the continuation and security of the base on Diego Garcia which would not be threatened by either resettlement, especially if it were on the Outer Islands or eventual Mauritian sovereignty. Chagossians and Mauritius want the base to continue.
“Mauritius has said it would offer the US a 99-year lease. Mauritius has also committed itself to facilitate and fund the resettlement of those Chagossians who wish to return.
“The U.K. remains committed to returning the islands to Mauritius when no longer needed for defence purposes.”
He said that legal disputes had gone on for over 20 years and pointed out that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Britain had an obligation to bring them to an end. Mr Rosindell wrote: “The Group has long advocated that with political will, determination, and compromise these issues can be resolved.”
Labour MP Luke Charters told The Mirror: “Opposition to the government’s deal might land differently if they weren’t coming from a party whose newest MP personally spent years advocating for this exact outcome. This is the same person who signed letters, and lobbied the British and even foreign governments to respect the ICJ ruling on the Chagos Islands.
“It’s a staggering act of hypocrisy from an MP and a party that proves time and again that it doesn’t know who or what it stands for.”
In a barbed question in the Commons – a video of which was shared by Reform on X – Mr Rosindale asked: “Will the Foreign Secretary explain if, and rightly so, she supports the self-determination of the Greenlandic people as part of the Kingdom of Denmark, why does she not also support the self-determination of the Chagosian people to remain a British overseas territory.”
The UK and Mauritius signed a deal in May to give Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos Islands after two centuries under British control. Mr Rosindale has branded it a surrender.
However in 2020 he wrote to Mr Biden: “The APPG hopes that the United States will play its part in bringing about an end to these historic injustices and helping our democratic allies which include Mauritius, India and Australia, to provide stability and protect our joint interests in the Indian Ocean and beyond for the foreseeable future.”
The White House welcomed the agreement last year, saying it “secures the long-term, stable, and effective operation of the joint U.S.-U.K. military facility at Diego Garcia.”
In recent years, the United Nations and its top court have urged Britain to return the islands to Mauritius, and the British government says it’s acting to protect the security of the base from international legal challenge.
A Labour source told The Mirror: “Given half of the Tory Party is now in Reform, it’s no wonder they share the same knack for total hypocrisy.
“The Tories started the Chagos negotiations and now want everyone to forget it. Meanwhile Nigel Farage’s latest recruit privately begged the former US president to take a course of action which this Labour government is now pursuing, and which Reform are opposing. You couldn’t make it up.
“You simply can’t trust a word either the Tories or Reform say.”
The Mirror has contacted Mr Rosindell and Reform UK for comment.
