Starmer defends Britain ceding control of Chagos Islands amid criticism from Conservatives | keir starmer

Keir Starmer has defended giving up British control of the Chagos Islands as it led to a political blame game among Conservative leadership candidates.

The prime minister said the agreement with Mauritius over the island would secure the long-term future of the joint US-British military base at Diego Garcia, something he considered of utmost importance.

Critics of the deal say it could give China a military foothold in the Indian Ocean and raise concerns about the future of other British overseas territories.

While Labor approved the final decision, it was the Conservatives who first indicated that Britain was open to negotiations with Mauritius. This discussion began under Liz Truss.

James Cleverly, then foreign secretary and now Conservative leadership candidate, said at the start of the talks that he hoped they would be concluded by the end of 2023.

Labor's decision appears to have caused divisions within Cleverly's leadership campaign, with former MP Grant Shapps, Cleverly's campaign chairman, saying he had blocked the deal.

Shapps said of X: As Secretary of Defense, I was so concerned about the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands that I blocked the deal from going through. Today, the government announced it was giving up sovereignty over the archipelago, including the militarily vital Diego Garcia.

Former Tory Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was crazy to give up control of the Chagos Islands. He told GB News: Why do we do this? Pure political correctness, the desire to seem like a good guy, to look like we're unleashing the last relics of our empire.

This doesn't make sense. In terms of difficult geopolitics, this is a bad idea. Because the Diego Garcia base is of great strategic importance to both the United States and the West and is a key component of the Anglo-American alliance. That's one of the things we bring to the table and has been for decades.

But Truss' spokesman criticized Johnson for the decision. It was Boris Johnson who asked Liz to speak to him. [the Mauritius prime minister Pravind Jugnauth] She spoke about this at Cop26. But she made it clear that we would and should never cede territory.

Cleverly's leadership rival, Tom Tugendhat, said it was shameful that these negotiations began on our watch and criticized his colleagues' role in the process.

Jonathan Powell, Starmer's special envoy for negotiations between Britain and Mauritius, who brokered the deal, dismissed the Tory criticism as foolish, pointing out that Cleverly had enthusiastically led talks not long ago.

The Prime Minister told reporters when asked to ensure that no British overseas territories were signed up by Labour. The most important thing was that we had a safe base, a joint US-British base. It's very important to America, and it's very important to us.

Now we have secured that, and that is why you saw such warm words from America yesterday.

The agreement on the continued presence of British-American troops in Diego Garcia is expected to last for 99 years with an option for renewal, with the UK required to pay an annual sum.

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