Sir Keir Starmer has signed an agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a scramble to prevent a further legal challenge after a last-minute injunction to halt the move failed on Thursday morning.
The deal will see the UK give up sovereignty of the island territory to Mauritius and pay £101 million per year for 99 years to lease the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia back from the government.
It could result in a total sum of £10bn carved out of the UK’s defence budget but the prime minister said the government had to “act now” because the Mauritians would likely win legal disputes against Britain.
Sir Keir said the UK’s base in the Chagos Islands is “one of the most significant contributions that we make to our security relationship with the United States”.
Speaking from the UK’s military headquarters after signing away the islands, the prime minister stressed the importance of maintaining control of a UK base.
He said: “Almost everything we do from the base is in partnership with the US.
“President Trump has welcomed the deal along with other allies, because they see the strategic importance of this base and that we cannot cede the ground to others who would seek to do us harm.”
“If Mauritius took us to court again, which they certainly would have, the UK’s longstanding legal view is that we would not have a realistic prospect of success and would likely face provisional measures orders within a matter of weeks.”
After revealing the true cost of the deal for the first time, Sir Keir insisted it was cheaper than the running cost of running an aircraft carrier.
Defending the deal, defence secretary John Healey said: “As the world becomes more dangerous, our military base on Diego Garcia becomes more important.
“Without this base, our ability to deter terrorists, defend our interests and protect our troops around the world would be at risk.”
And foreign secretary David Lammy highlighted that “the US, Australia, Canada and India all back this deal because they understand its importance for global security”.
Judge Sir Julian Goose put a pause on the treaty being signed at 3am this morning following hours of legal wrangling.
But after an urgent hearing on Thursday, Mr Justice Chamberlain dismissed the injunction.
While campaigners were scrambling to appeal the ruling, it is understood ministers moved at speed to prevent further challenges.
Admitting defeat, a member of the team behind the legal challenge told The Independent: “ It’s a total apostasy toward the rule of law. They have cheated to avoid justice.”
Meanwhile, Bertrice Pompe, one of two British women born on the Chagos Islands who brought the injunction, said it was “a very, very sad day” but “we are not giving up”.
Ms Pompe, is a Chagossian, born on Diego Garcia and expelled at six months old. A British national now living in London, Ms Pompe had argued that the deal would cause irreparable harm and violate fundamental legal and human rights principles.
The prime minister said failing to sign the treaty would have left the UK unable to prevent China or any other nation from setting up their own bases on the Chagos Islands or carrying out joint exercises near the Diego Garcia base.
“No responsible government could let that happen. So, there’s no alternative but to act in Britain’s national interest,” he added.
As well as questions over the costs of the deal, despite the PM slashing welfare spending and taking winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners, serious questions were also being asked about the deal being signed before MPs are allowed to see the details.
Tory shadow armed forces minister Mark Francois, said: “This is absolute madness! At a time when this government of Human Rights lawyers is taking money away from millions of pensioners over winter fuel payments and restricting financial support to the disabled, they are now proposing to pay billions of pounds to Mauritius – to rent back a key base we already own in the first place! Moreover, if this deal is ‘front loaded’ and largely comes out of the MoD Budget, what will that do to the Strategic Defence Review?”
The main block to signing the deal was removed when Donald Trump gave it his blessing.
But critics believe it will undermine western security infrastructure in the Indian Ocean and could lead to Chinese interference in the islands.
Thursday’s legal challenge focused on the grievances of the Chagossians who were expelled from Diego Garcia. The UK government has negotiated the right to return to the outer islands, but islanders believe that their rights will not be protected.
