Boris Johnson says ‘terrible’ Chagos Islands deal makes UK look ‘pathetic’

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Louise Thomas

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Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius has made Britain look “weak” and “pathetic”, Boris Johnson has claimed.

He dismissed the idea that the deal, intended to secure the future of a secretive military base on the island of Diego Garcia, would buy the country influence on the global stage.

The agreement has faced criticism after leaving the UK without sovereign territorial control over a piece of land in the Indian Ocean that is deemed crucial to Western security.

There are also fears it may open the islands to Chinese interference and undermine Western defence and security in the southern hemisphere.

Hitting out at the agreement, the former prime minister told GB News on Sunday: “People think it’ll make us seem better to the rest of the world, honourable, more decent.

“They don’t think that. No, no, no, no, no. They think Britain – weak. They think – pathetic. They think, ‘Why would you give up an asset like that?’

“The idea that it buys us influence, that it buys us approval, that it is in the committee of civilised nations, it’s seen as generous. It’s rubbish.”

He said the deal was a “terrible, terrible idea geo-strategically”, adding: “[It’s] a key component of this Anglo-American alliance, one of the things that we bring to the table.

“It has been for decades. Why are we trading it away? It’s the wrong thing to do. With the best will in the world, Mauritius is a great place, wonderful country, wonderful people, if you hand over sovereignty to another jurisdiction, we don’t know who is ultimately going to be pulling the strings.”

There have been concerns the agreement will threaten Britain’s control over other overseas territories, such as the Falkland Islands, with former armed forces minister Mark Francois saying the deal is a “strategic disaster” for the UK and our US allies.

He told The Independent on Friday: “Not only does it threaten an eventual Chinese veto over the future of the key base on Diego Garcia, it will only embolden nations like Argentina to press for control of the Falklands.”

But the government has shot down the remarks, saying British sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar is “not up for negotiation”.

A Foreign Office spokesperson added: “The situations are not comparable. The Chagos Islands agreement is unique and has absolutely no bearing on the wider UK government policy on the sovereignty of our Overseas Territories. It is a very different issue with a very different history.”

The announcement of the agreement has also sparked anger among some Chagossians, who have accused the government of excluding them from talks.

The Independent also revealed on Friday that a group of indigenous people from the Chagos Islands are planning to stage a protest over the decision in Westminster on Monday, saying their views have been “consistently and deliberately ignored”, and are demanding full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty.

Chagossian Voices, a campaign group representing people from the archipelago, claims to have learnt the outcome of the negotiations via the media. It is calling for the archipelago to remain under British protection.

Meanwhile, Labour told The Independent they had no choice but to sign the deal because of a “legal car crash” left by the Tories.

A party source said: “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.”

Mr Johnson’s comments come in the wake of the release of his memoirs Unleashed, which has attracted widespread criticism including from former Tory home secretary Amber Rudd.