Starmer ‘wobbled over Chagos deal’ amid panic over £35bn price ticket and doubts over authorized case for handing territory to Mauritius
Keir Starmer ‘wobbled’ over the Chagos deal amid panic over the £35billion price tag and doubts over the legal position.
The PM has been adamant that handing over the British territory to Mauritius – and leasing back the crucial Diego Garcia military base – is the right thing to do.
But the US has joined widespread condemnation of the package, still going through Parliament, despite initially giving public backing.
Private concerns in government have been revealed by former ambassador to Washington Lord Mandelson, who was forced to resign in September over links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The New Labour architect is facing a storm over a huge new tranche of emails to Epstein published by the American administration.
In an interview with The Times, Lord Mandelson gave an insight into the behind-the-scenes wrangling over Chagos.
Lord Mandelson gave an insight into the behind-the-scenes wrangling over Chagos, as he faces a storm over his Epstein links
Keir Starmer has been adamant that handing over the British territory to Mauritius – and leasing back the crucial Diego Garcia military base – is the right thing to do
He said he ‘became aware of a serious wobble in London over the agreement and its sellability to the British public’.
‘That was to do with the price tag and whether we had the total legal obligation to enter the deal and whether the original legal case made for the agreement in Whitehall was as watertight as was claimed,’ the peer said.
‘So on the one hand I faced a sceptical US administration and then at another point a wobbly government of my own behind me.’
The Tories have branded the agreement to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius a ‘surrender’, warning that the state is closely allied to China.
It would seek to secure the operation of the joint UK-US base on the island of Diego Garcia for at least 99 years. The UK would also make payments to Mauritius.
The government argues that the move is essential to put the legal status of Chagos on a stable footing, after adverse international court rulings.
Donald Trump branded the pact an ‘act of great stupidity’, despite previous support from the White House. Sir Keir insisted the president’s opposition was just a pressure tactic in his bid to seize Greenland from Nato ally Denmark.
The government has postponed a House of Lords debate on the Chagos legislation after an amendment was tabled calling for a pause ‘in the light of the changing geopolitical circumstances’.
