Diego Garcia row: Truss and Cleverly blamed as Starmer ‘surrenders’ key airbase islands

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.

Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.

Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.

Louise Thomas

Editor

An extraordinary blame game has erupted dragging in Liz Truss and James Cleverly following Sir Keir Starmer’s shock decision to hand hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The deal is meant to secure the future of a secretive military base in the Pacific Ocean but has left the UK without sovereignty territorial control over an island which is crucial to western security in the Pacific.

The sudden announcement saw a furious tweet go out from Tory leadership contender James Cleverly calling the Labour government “weak, weak, weak”. However, it quickly emerged that the talks were started by Mr Cleverly himself before being stopped by his successor as foreign secretary Lord David Cameron.

In a pointed tweet, Tory leadership rival and former security minister described the talks being opened under a Conservative government as “disgraceful” without name checking Mr Cleverly.

But the former foreign secretary’s camp has hit back with a briefing blaming former prime minister Liz Truss and suggesting that the loss of the islands is part of the toxic legacy of her 49-day premiership.

A source close to Cleverly said: “Ultimately, the direction is set by the Prime Minister on these matters. Truss' decision surprised many people. These included James Cleverly, who inherited responsibility for the talks when he became foreign secretary and had to make the announcement.”

They noted that Cleverly’s talks followed discussions Truss herself had with Mauritius’s prime minister.

The source went on: “After the initial formal negotiations begun, JC, Grant Shapps and Oliver Dowden were working on it together. They agreed that there wasn't going to be ground found that would be acceptable. After 15 months of Jame Cleverly in the Foreign Office it wasn't signed off but Starmer and David Lammy signed it off in the first three months.”

Meanwhile Labour said the Tories left an inheritance which could have seen the joint UK-US base fall into the control of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), putting British and US national security at risk.

A Labour source told The Independent: “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. 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.”

Jonathan Powell, the prime minister’s special envoy for negotiations between the UK and Mauritius, dismissed the “silly” Tory criticism of the deal and noted Mr Cleverly was leading the talks a matter of months ago.

Mr Powell said the previous Tory administration managed to “lose the trust” of their Mauritian counterparts, telling BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: “So for the people who were involved in that negotiation to start criticising the outcome, something they couldn’t achieve, is absolutely ludicrous.”

He added: “They are criticising it because they want to try and score points in their desperate attempt to win the leadership.”

The government on Thursday said it would recognise the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Islands under a new agreement, which also secures the rights of Britain to operate a military base at Diego Garcia for at least the next 99 years.

The Foreign Office said the status of the base will be undisputed and legally secure following a political agreement between the two countries.

Foreign secretary David Lammy said the government had “inherited a situation where the long-term, secure operation of the Diego Garcia military base was under threat”.

He added: “Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future.

“Our deal, supported by our US partners, will protect international security, close a potential illegal migration route, and avert threats to peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean.”

Joe Biden welcomed the agreement as a “clear demonstration that through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome long-standing historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes”.

The US president said the Diego Garcia military base plays a “vital role” in US national, regional and global security and the deal secures its operation for a century.

But Tory leadership hopefuls were furious, with Robert Jenrick saying: “It’s taken three months for (Sir Keir) Starmer to surrender Britain’s strategic interests.

“This is a dangerous capitulation that will hand our territory to an ally of Beijing.”

Mr 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!”

And Mr Tugendhat said: “This is a shameful retreat undermining our security and leaving our allies exposed.”

In November 2022, Mr Cleverly said: “The UK and Mauritius have decided to begin negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)/Chagos archipelago.

“The UK and Mauritius have agreed to engage in constructive negotiations, with a view to arriving at an agreement by early next year.”

Diego Garcia is a remote island in the Indian Ocean strictly out of bounds to most civilians. On a rare visit a BBC reporter described it as a secretive UK-US military base shrouded for decades in rumour and mystery.

Chagossians were forced to leave the central Indian Ocean territory by 1973 to make way for the military base.

The expulsions are regarded as one of the most shameful parts of Britain’s modern colonial history and Chagossians have spent decades fighting to return to the islands.

The United Nations’ highest court, the International Court of Justice, previously ruled the UK’s administration of the territory was "unlawful" and must end.

The Foreign Office said the agreement is subject to a treaty and supporting legal instruments being finalised, adding that both sides have committed to complete this as quickly as possible.

A Downing Street spokesman said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke to his Mauritius counterpart, Pravind Jugnauth, on Thursday morning.

The spokesman said: "The leaders began by welcoming the political agreement achieved today between the UK and Mauritius on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago after two years of negotiations.

"The prime minister reiterated the importance of reaching this deal to protect the continued operation of the UK/US military base on Diego Garcia.

"He underscored his steadfast duty to national and global security which underpinned the political agreement reached today."

In a joint statement, the prime minister of the Republic of Mauritius and Sir Keir Starmer hailed the historic political agreement on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.

They said the deal will secure the effective operation of the key base on Diego Garcia. And they said Mauritius will now be free to implement a resettlement scheme for displaced Chagossians.

The statement added: “The treaty will address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians.

“In resolving all outstanding issues between the United Kingdom and Mauritius, the treaty will open a new chapter in our shared history, one which will continue to be based on mutual respect and trust as close Commonwealth partners committed to the security and prosperity of the Indian Ocean Region. “

Campaign group for Chagossians, Chagossian Voices, said it deplores the exclusion of Chagossians from negotiations about the islands.

“Chagossians have learned this outcome from the media and remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland,” the group said in a statement.

It added: “The view of Chagossians, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, have been consistently and deliberately ignored and we demand full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty.”