Labour are being told to abandon their agreement with Mauritius over the strategically-important Chagos Islands in the wake of Donald Trump‘s election win.
Dame Priti Patel, the Tory shadow foreign secretary, said Mr Trump’s historic victory offered the Prime Minister a chance to reverse his ‘surrender’ of the archipelago.
The Government announced last month that it had controversially agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands – officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory – to Mauritius, which has links to China.
Sir Keir Starmer claimed the deal was necessary to secure the rights of the UK and US to continue to operate a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
Downing Street pointed to the backing of US President Joe Biden for the agreement and said there was an ‘unsustainable’ legal position in Britain continuing its sovereignty claim.
But, with Mr Biden to be replaced in the White House by Mr Trump in January, the PM and Foreign Secretary David Lammy are under growing pressure to rethink the deal.
Senior US Republicans have warned against handing the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
There are fears the deal will put the Diego Garcia base under threat from Chinese spies and boost Beijing at a time of heightened tensions with the West.
Dame Priti, a former Cabinet minister, told The Times: ‘In their haste to surrender the Chagos Islands, Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy have shown how weak and feeble this Labour Government is.
‘They failed an important test by showing the world that Labour is unwilling to defend the security and defence of our country and our allies, leaving the future of our military facilities on the island in the lurch.
‘With the election of President Trump, we now have an opportunity to review this decision and work constructively with the new US administration to ensure that our defence is always put first.’
There is a growing expectation that the Chagos Islands deal will leave Sir Keir facing his first foreign policy clash with Mr Trump when he re-enters the White House.
A Cabinet minister insisted yesterday that the deal with Mauritius is done and dusted, while the Government believes the Pentagon supports it.
But Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is lobbying his political ally Mr Trump to intervene and so force the UK to think again.
He told the Mail: ‘I have spoken to people very closely associated with him about the Chagos situation and about the worry that the Mauritian government is moving further to the left.’
Mr Farage said the danger is that the deal agreed by Labour in October – which hands control to Mauritius but allows the US and UK to continue operating the military base on Diego Garcia for at least 99 years – could unravel as Chinese influence grows on Mauritius.
‘Leasehold agreements sound wonderful but look at what happened with Hong Kong,’ said Mr Farage.
‘And what’s to stop, under this agreement, the Chinese being allowed to use one of the other islands? Given the importance of Diego Garcia in the Gulf war, it’s a very important military asset.
‘Obviously we’ve got to see who he [Mr Trump] appoints as Secretary of State and as Secretary of Defence. But I think it’s highly unlikely that this will not become an issue. I don’t see what we gain from the handover – rethinking it must be a possibility. It’s entirely possible this situation changes.’
He added that Trump’s people ‘are aware’ of legal advice drafted by pro-Brexit lawyer Martin Howe KC which argues that the UK was under no obligation to cede sovereignty of the islands, despite a 2019 ruling by the International Court of Justice that the UK’s occupation was unlawful.
A former Foreign Office source told the Mail: ‘I would be highly surprised if Trump didn’t at least try and put a stop to the deal.’
The insider said it would be an ‘extraordinary U-turn’ if Labour were to abandon the deal, adding: ‘Ultimately if Trump really wants it to happen, they have ways of turning the screws on the government. See what they did with Huawei.’
Although Mr Trump has not commented publicly on the Chagos deal, other senior Republicans have done so including a leading contender to become his Secretary of State.
Senator Marco Rubio described the handover as ‘concerning’ last month.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden, asked by Sky News if the deal was ‘100 per cent done and dusted’, replied: ‘Yes, I believe it is,’ adding that it ‘is important in that deal that we have secured the use of the base there for a long time to come’.
A Government spokesman said: ‘This agreement protects the long-term secure operation of the UK-US base that plays a vital role in regional and international security.
‘The UK and the US has a special relationship built over many decades and we look forward to continuing this with the incoming US administration, cooperating on our shared priorities including growth, security and defence.’
