The decision to hand over the Chagos Islands has sparked intense debate on GB News, with former Tory adviser Clare Pearsall demanding: “The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary should apologise.”
The UK Government has announced a historic deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending decades of dispute.
The dispute stems from the UK’s decision to forcibly remove over 1,000 Chagossians from their homes in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
The agreement, revealed yesterday, includes a provision for Britain to maintain its military base on Diego Garcia for at least 99 years.
The pair got into a heated debate on GB News this morning
GB News
GB News’ senior political commentator Nigel Nelson expressed support for the Government’s decision, stating: “What they’re demanding now is a say in the final treaty, which they should get.
“This was a shameful stitch up back in the 1960s when we removed them from the island and dispersed all over the place.”
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Pearsall, however, vehemently opposed the move, calling it “an appalling set of circumstances”.
She fumed: “This has been unilaterally decided in recess. There’s no parliamentary scrutiny on it.
“I believe the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister will probably have to apologise to the speaker.”
She added: “They [Labour] pushed it over the edge without any discussion, without any scrutiny and with no amount of money being given.
Chagos Isands have been handed to Mauritius
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“So the value of we’re just giving over the Chagos Islands, but also a lot of money to the Mauritian resettlement. To resettle the people who we displaced back in the 1960s.
“How much money? It is undisclosed. How long is that going to stay? Undisclosed.
“But we’re not also looking at the security aspect of all of this.
“When you’ve got a Mauritian government who are closely aligned with China, do we not think that there are security risks inherent in this deal?”
Clare Pearsall shared a major security concern
GB News
Nelson said: “We have a 99 year lease on Diego Garcia.”
She said: “That’s one place. There are many islands.
“Do we think that the Chinese aren’t aware that there are many islands? Won’t take much to set up some listening posts, will it?”