Minister says accepting freebies is different in governmentYour support helps us to tell the storyFind out moreCloseMy recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyondEric GarciaWashington Bureau ChiefA furious row has erupted between Labour and the Conservatives over a deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.Sir Keir Starmer’s government has announced that Britain will return the territory but will still have sovereignty over the Diego Garcia military base in the Pacific Ocean.But the Conservatives have condemned the decision, with Tory leadership contender Robert Jenrick accusing Sir Keir Starmer of “surrendering” Britain’s strategic interests. Former foreign secretary James Cleverly has also joined the backlash, branding Sir Keir Starmer “weak, weak, weak” despite being behind the first negotiations over the agreement when he was in cabinet.A Labour source hit back accusing Rishi Sunak’s administration of putting the key UK-US base on Diego Garcia at risk during their negotiations. They branded the territorial dispute a “legal car crash” left by the previous government which was “damaging the UK and the US’ national security”. It comes as Boris Johnson revealed how he dismissed warnings over Dominic Cummings and the Barnard Castle row as “lefty journalists angry over Brexit”. In his new book ‘Unleashed’, the former prime minister explained why he refused to sack his then-political adviser despite his infamous trip at the peak of the pandemic.Show latest update 1727954157Furious Tories condemn Starmer’s Chagos deal despite them opening talks More Tory leadership candidates have joined Robert Jenrick in criticising the British Indian Ocean Territory decision.James Cleverly said: “Weak, weak, weak! Labour lied to get into office. Said they’d be whiter than white, said they wouldn’t put up taxes, said they’d stand up to the EU, said that they be patriotic. All lies!”Fellow rival Tom Tugendhat said: “This is a shameful retreat undermining our security and leaving our allies exposed.”He claimed the Foreign Office had “negotiated against Britain’s interest” and it was “disgraceful that these negotiations started under our watch”.Mr Tugendhat added: “Lord Cameron rightly blocked them only to see it back under David Lammy’s complete failure of leadership.”But the Tories were responsible for starting the negotiations over the deal when they were in power. Former foreign secretary Mr Cleverly opened talks on the sovereignty of the archipelago in November 2022. Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 12:151727966660Britain treated Chagossians ‘shamefully’, says envoyThe envoy behind the Chagos Islands-Mauritius deal has said Chagossians were treated “shamefully” when they were removed from the islands in the 1960s.Jonathan Powell told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “What we did in the 60s, what Britain did, was wrong. We treated them shamefully.“And that’s why previous governments have given them British nationality, British citizenship, and so on.“So we setting up a fund that will be administered by the Mauritian government because this is now Mauritian territory, so we can’t say who goes back.”But under the deal, Chagossians are not able to return to Diego Garcia, the UK-US military base in the Pacific Ocean. He added: “Many of Chagossians are either Mauritian citizens or have the right to Mauritian citizenship.“Going back to the islands … it’s going to be difficult. They’re very remote and very hard to live on, and the life there before was very difficult.“But yes, we are committing ourselves to help on visits, and we’re committing to a fund to help on resettlement if that’s possible.”Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 15:441727965211Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 15:201727965068We inherited ‘legal car crash’ with Chagos IslandsA Labour source has hit back at the Tories’ after the fierce criticism from leadership candidates over the government’s decision to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. They said: “Labour inherited a legal car crash that could have left this vital military base in the hands of the court, damaging the UK and the US’ national security.”In 2021, the Conservative government was urged to end its “unlawful occupation” of the Chagos Islands by the prime minister of Mauritius after Britain’s claim to sovereignty was rejected by the UN court. But the Foreign Office argued it had not been party of the court proceedings so it was under no obligation to comply with the ruling. The UK then underwent a long period of negotiations with Mauritius to settle the issue. The source added: “James Cleverly and the Tories tried and failed in 11 rounds of negotiations, putting our national security interests at risk. “The new government did the deal to secure the base and shut off a potential illegal migration route.“You wouldn’t get the US President applauding the deal if it put US interests at risk.”Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 15:171727964603COMMENT | Laura Kuenssberg’s Boris Johnson gaffe was bad – but these are worseThe BBC presenter accidentally sent the former PM her notes: cue, cancelled interview. And Ryan Coogan has a few confessions of his own…Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 15:101727963403ICYMI: Boris Johnson regrets not sacking ‘homicidal robot’ Dominic Cummings over Barnard Castle debacleBoris Johnson has branded his former chief of staff Dominic Cummings as “weird” and compared him to a “homicidal robot” as he blamed him for his downfall as prime minister.In his new autobiography Unleashed, the Mr Johnson charted the collapse of his relationship with Cummings from the high point of them working to win the EU referendum in 2016.But he has alleged that Cummings lack of gratitude for his efforts to defend him over potentially breaking lockdown rules with an infamous trip to Barnard Castle in 2020 led to the former chief of staff using Partygate as a form of revenge.Our political editor David Maddox has the full story below:Salma Ouaguira3 October 2024 14:501727962200THE INDEPENDENT DEBATE: Who should be the next leader of the Tory party?All you have to do is sign up and register your details — then you can take part in the discussion. 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