Boris Johnson says terrible Chagos Islands deal makes UK pathetic

Sir Keir Starmer's decision to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has made Britain look weak and pathetic, Boris Johnson has claimed.

He rejected the idea that the deal, intended to secure the future of a secret military base on the island of Diego Garcia, would allow the country to gain influence on the world stage.

The deal was criticized after leaving the UK without sovereign territorial control over a patch of Indian Ocean land deemed crucial to Western security.

There are also fears it could open the islands to Chinese interference and undermine Western defense and security in the southern hemisphere.

Denouncing the deal, the former prime minister told GB News on Sunday: People think it will make us look better to the rest of the world, honourable, more decent.

They don't think that. No, no, no, no, no. They think Britain is weak. They think pathetic. They think: Why would you give up an asset like that?

The idea that it buys us influence, that it buys us approval, that it is part of the committee of civilized nations, is considered generous. This is rubbish.

He said the deal was a very, very bad geostrategic idea, adding: [Its] a key part of this Anglo-American alliance, one of the things we bring to the table.

It's been decades. Why do we trade it? This is not the right thing to do. With the best will in the world, Mauritius is a wonderful place, a wonderful country, wonderful people. If you hand over sovereignty to another jurisdiction, we don't know who will ultimately pull the strings.

Some fear the deal could threaten British control over other overseas territories, such as the Falkland Islands, with former Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois saying the deal is a strategic disaster for the UK and our American allies.

He said The Independent Friday: Not only does this threaten a possible Chinese veto over the future of the key Diego Garcia base, it will only encourage countries like Argentina to push for control of the Falklands.

But the government rejected the comments, saying British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar was non-negotiable.

A Foreign Office spokesperson added: The situations are not comparable. The Chagos Islands Agreement is unique and has absolutely no bearing on the UK Government's wider policy regarding the sovereignty of our Overseas Territories. This is a very different question with a very different story.

The announcement of the agreement also angered some Chagossians, who accused the government of excluding them from the negotiations.

The Independent also revealed on Friday that a group of indigenous people from the Chagos Islands were planning to stage a protest against the decision in Westminster on Monday, saying their views had been systematically and deliberately ignored and were demanding their full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty.

Chagossian Voices, a campaign group representing residents of the archipelago, says it learned of the outcome of the negotiations through the media. He asked that the archipelago remain under British protection.

Meanwhile, Labor saidThe Independentthey had no choice but to sign the agreement due to a legal car crash left by the conservatives.

A party source said: “Labour has inherited a legal car crash that could have left this vital military base in the hands of the court, undermining the national security of the UK and US. James Cleverly and the Conservatives have tried and failed during 11 rounds of negotiations, putting our national security interests at risk.

The new government reached a deal to secure the base and block a possible illegal migration route. The US president would not applaud the deal if it put US interests at risk.

Mr Johnson's comments follow publication of his memoir Unchainedwhich attracted widespread criticism, notably from the former Conservative Home Secretary, Amber Rudd.