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Sir Keir Starmer should scrap his plans to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and consider ceding control to the US instead, the former head of the British army has said.
Lord Dannatt, former chief of the general staff, said it is “very hard to find good news” in the prime minister’s deal to cede control of the Indian Ocean archipelago, and raised questions about how the agreement would be paid for.
And the former army chief criticised a core part of the deal meant to protect the top secret joint US/UK airbase on Diego Garcia, insisting a 99-year guarantee over its use is not long enough.
The UK government has denied suggestions it could end up paying £18bn to lease back Diego Garcia over 99 years, but is refusing to set out the costs of the deal.
And Lord Dannatt told Times Radio: “If we think we can find 18 billion pounds to buy off Mauritius, frankly, there are much better uses for that £18bn, not the least of which is on the army and on UK defence to spend on things that really matter to us.
“So whichever way you look at it, it’s very hard to find good news in this deal.”
The deal between Britain and Mauritius is also being looked at by Donald Trump, with expectations mounting the US president could veto the arrangement.
“No wonder President Trump is concerned, indeed, to the point of being angry with Britain… and I just can’t see why Keir Starmer’s government really continues going down this track,” Lord Dannatt added.
Instead, the crossbench peer said Sir Keir should explore handing control of the Chagos Islands to the US, adding that it is in the Americans’ interests to maintain control of it.
Asked whether Sir Keir should give the US control of the archipelago, Lord Dannatt said: “I think to be honest, that’s something that should be explored. Donald Trump has made it quite clear that the deal that’s on the table is a bad deal.
“You could actually make the case, and perhaps Keir Starmer likes to make the case to Donald Trump, rather like Greenland, if he’s worried about the security aspects there, to take control of it himself.”
The government has argued that international legal rulings on sovereignty over the archipelago mean the UK has to cede the islands to Mauritius.
