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

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

The deal is meant to secure the future of a secretive military base on the island of Diego Garcia, but it has left the UK without sovereign territorial control over a piece of land that is crucial to Western security in the Indian Ocean. The US-UK base will remain on Diego Garcia, but this latest development has led to fears that China could achieve its goal of setting up bases on the Chagos Islands.

The sudden announcement was rapidly followed by a furious tweet from Tory leadership contender James Cleverly calling the Labour government “weak, weak, weak”. However, it quickly emerged that the talks to hand over the islands were instigated by Mr Cleverly himself before being halted by his successor as foreign secretary David Cameron.

In a pointed tweet, his Tory leadership rival and former security minister Tom Tugendhat described the fact that the talks were opened under a Conservative government as “disgraceful”, though he did not namecheck Mr Cleverly.

But Mr Cleverly’s camp has hit back with a briefing that blames former prime minister Liz Truss and suggests that the loss of the islands is part of the toxic legacy of her 49-day premiership.

A source close to Mr Cleverly said: “Ultimately, the direction is set by the prime minister on these matters. [Liz] Truss’s 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 Mr Cleverly’s talks had followed discussions held by Ms Truss herself with the prime minister of Mauritius.

The source went on: “After the initial formal negotiations began, James Cleverly, 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 James Cleverly in the Foreign Office, it wasn't signed off, but [Keir] Starmer and David Lammy signed it off in the first three months.”

But a spokesman for Ms Truss told The Independent: "It was Boris Johnson who asked Liz to talk to Prime Minister Jugnauth about this at COP26, which she did. But she was absolutely clear that we would and should never cede the territory."

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He added: “Both as foreign secretary in the Johnson government and as prime minister, Liz was absolutely clear that we would never and should never cede the territory."

Meanwhile, Labour said the Tories had left behind an inheritance that 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 UK and 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 overseeing negotiations between the UK and Mauritius, dismissed the Conservatives’ criticism of the deal as “silly” and noted that Mr Cleverly had been leading the talks only a matter of months ago.

Mr Powell said that the previous Tory administration had managed to “lose the trust” of their Mauritian counterparts, telling BBC Radio 4’s The 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 said on Thursday that it would recognise the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos Islands under a new agreement, which also secures the right 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.”

US president Joe Biden welcomed the agreement as a “clear demonstration that, through diplomacy and partnership, countries can overcome longstanding historical challenges to reach peaceful and mutually beneficial outcomes”. President Biden said the Diego Garcia military base plays a “vital role” in US national, regional and global security, noting that the deal secures its operation for a century.

But Tory leadership hopefuls were furious. Robert Jenrick said: “It’s taken three months for [Keir] Starmer to surrender Britain’s strategic interests. This is a dangerous capitulation that will hand our territory to an ally of Beijing.”

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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’d 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/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 that is 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 in 1973 to make way for the military base. The expulsion of its inhabitants is regarded as one of the most shameful episodes in Britain’s modern colonial history, and Chagossians have spent decades fighting to return to the islands.

The United Nations’ highest court, the ICJ, previously ruled that the UK’s administration of the territory was “unlawful” and must end.

The Foreign Office said the agreement is subject to the finalisation of a treaty and supporting legal instruments, adding that both sides have committed to completing the process as quickly as possible.

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A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister had spoken to his Mauritius counterpart, Pravind Jugnauth, on Thursday morning.

The spokesperson 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, Sir Keir and the prime minister of the Republic of Mauritius hailed the historic political agreement on the exercise of sovereignty over the archipelago. They said that the deal will secure the effective operation of the key base on Diego Garcia, and that 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.”

A 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, adding: “The views 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.”