Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for handing back British-owned territory to Mauritius, following a 200-year row over the islands.
The Labour premier announced today that the Chagos Islands will be handed back after losing a unanimous vote in the United Nations, with a loss of support for the UK’s claim by international communities.
In a statement, the government said: “To enable this partnership, the UK will provide a package of financial support to Mauritius.
“This will include an indexed annual payment for the duration of the agreement and the establishment of a transformational infrastructure partnership, underpinned by UK grant funding.”
Rear Admiral Chris Parry hit out at Starmer for his ‘ideological’ move to hand over a ‘critical’ base to Mauritius
PA / GB News
Hitting out at the move, host Tom Harwood raged that not only is the UK “handing control of these islands over to Mauritius”, we’re also “paying them for it”.
Speaking to GB News, former Nato Commander Rear Admiral Chris Parry said the move was based on “ideological policy at play”, adding that it was “totally a-strategic”.
Parry fumed: “It’s contrary to national interest, and I don’t think people have thought about the consequences of this.”
When questioned by host Miriam Cates on why the Labour Government is “putting the interests of the international community” over and above “Britain’s strategic interests”, Parry claimed that there are “quite a few people” in the Labour Party who are “obsessed” with “the decolonisation agenda”.
The Prime Minister has handed back the British-owned Chagos Islands to Mauritius after 200 years
GB News
Parry explained: “They think this is symbolic of that – what they’re missing is that the Diego Garcia, which is one of the largest parts of the Chagos chain, is home to a major air and naval base that is critical not only to our strategic security but also to that of the Americans as well.”
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Host Tom Harwood then suggested that a “major player” such as China may be involved in the decision, which Parry then revealed that there is “concern” over “Mauritius’s relationship to China”.
Parry told GB News: “It’s very complicated. Mauritius doesn’t have any entitlement to the islands anyway. They’ve constructed it over the last 30 years or so.
“Mauritius is a relatively poor country, but there’s a lot of what I call offshore interests, which are both licit and illicit. Diego Garcia, the base is going to continue with access to it. But the fact of life is all the Chinese have to do is rock up and put forces in the other islands, and they can actually neutralise Diego Garcia.”
Stressing how “critical” the base is to the UK, Parry feared that the Mauritius authorities “may not behave themselves” once the territory is back in their hands.
The former Nato Commander claimed that there are ‘concerns’ for Mauritius’s relationship with China
GB News
Parry said: “We have no assurances in place that the Mauritanians are going to behave themselves. It’s a critical base, and I’m afraid just like anything else here, it’s driven by ideology, not by strategy.
“It’s got a huge runway that would take B-52 bombers during the first and second Gulf Wars. It was absolutely critical for transiting large aircraft into the Gulf War. It’s a major pre-positioning base. The lagoon itself can hold up to three divisions’ worth of equipment and has done so in the past in pre-positioned ships.
“And my concern is the Americans and ourselves think that we’ve got exclusive access to the base. If you give sovereignty away, they can foreclose that at any time they like.
“And if China leans on Mauritius at any stage or indeed starts to base any of its forces in the remaining Chagos Islands, then the base itself is worthless.”