The UK has signed a long-awaited deal to hand control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed.
It means Britain will give up sovereignty of the Indian Ocean territory and lease back the vital Diego Garcia military base – at a cost of £101m a year.
In a news conference, the prime minister said the base is of the “utmost significance to Britain, from deploying aircraft to defeat terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, to anticipating threats in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific”.
He said the base was under threat because of Mauritius’s legal claim on the Chagos Islands, which has been recognised by multiple international courts.
“If we did not agree this deal, the legal situation would mean that we would not be able to prevent China or any other nation setting up their own bases on the outer islands, or carrying out joint exercises near our base,” Sir Keir said.
“We would have to explain to you, the British people and to our allies, that we’d lost control of this vital asset. No responsible government could let that happen, so there’s no alternative but to act in Britain’s national interest by agreeing to this deal.”
“We will never gamble with national security,” he added.
The deal means the UK will lease the base from the Mauritian government over 99 years. Although the annual cost is £101m, the net cost overall is £3.4bn, the government said.
Defence Secretary John Healey, who was also at the news conference, said that is an “essential investment” and amounts to less than 0.2% of the defence budget.
Sir Keir said it is less than the yearly cost of running an aircraft carrier, and also less than what the US is paying for the running costs of the base.
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