Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has released a seven-minute takedown of Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos handover deal with Mauritius.
Jenrick, who read history at Cambridge University, opened by detailing Britain’s historic connection with the Chagos Islands.
The Newark MP pointed out how Mauritius’s claim to the Chagos Islands is about as logical as Australia taking over New Zealand.
He said: “Almost no Mauritian had or have ever lived on Chagos. In fact, the only people who have are a few thousand Chagossians, a small community who Keir Starmer has never met with.
Robert Jenrick released a seven-minute long explainer on the Chagos Islands
ROBERT JENRICK
“So why is Mauritius now claiming sovereignty? Well, the British administered Chagos from Mauritius, but they were separate entities. Originally New Zealand was administered from Australia, but Australia is not claiming sovereignty over New Zealand.
“Anyway, let’s fast forward to 1965. Mauritius is British, but the British are about to grant independence.”
Jenrick added: “To recap, the Chagos Islands have been British sovereign territory since 1814.
“It’s only in 1982 and a far-left party wins power in Mauritius, when their Government first makes the claim that the British Government coerced them out of their land. This claim is nonsense.”
Despite Britain’s longstanding connection with the Chagos Islands, the International Court of Justice issued a non-binding opinion imploring Britain to give up the Indian Ocean archipelago.
“We never consented for this dispute to go before the court,” Jenrick said.
“So the ICJ has no jurisdiction. There is no legal reason whatsoever Why we have to give up the Chagos Islands.”
Chagos Islands
Flickr/PA
The judge on the case, Jamaican Patrick Robinson, has also said the UK should pay £18 trillion in slavery reparations.
The Shadow Justice Secretary also argued that the Chagos Islands remain incredibly significant for the UK.
He highlighted how Diego Garcia, nuclear operations and a vital communication station all operate on the archipelago.
Just hours after Sir Keir Starmer warned about the threat posed by Russia, Jenrick highlighted how Britain’s place in the Chagos Islands keeps China in check.
“A 99 year lease is a house built on sand. Mauritius is close to China. Mauritius is indebted to China,” Jenrick said. “There are 47 different official Chinese development projects in Mauritius already.”
Jenrick also pointed to Hong Kong, which Britain handed over to China in 1997, as an example of Beijing reneging on its own obligations.
After voicing concern about the cost of the potential deal, Jenrick claimed “three men, three old friends” were at the “heart” of the negotiations.
Robert Jenrick serves as Shadow Justice Secretary
ROBERT JENRICK
“You’ve got Keir Starmer,” Jenrick explained. “He went on a five star, all expenses paid trip to Mauritius in 2013. He gave a lecture and he discussed the Chagos Islands.
“And then you’ve got Lord Hermer, the Government’s top lawyer. Starmers old friend and former campaign donor, the man better known as Gerry Adams’s lawyer.
“Hermer is described controlling our borders as dehumanising and almost every aspect of the British Empire as deeply racist.
“And on the other side of the table, leading the Mauritian negotiating team is Philippe Sands, another old friend of Keir Starmer and Lord Herma from their legal careers.”
Speaking to GB News after releasing his video, Jenrick said: “Starmer’s attempts to surrender the Chagos Islands are nothing short of a betrayal of Britain.
“He promised to put the British people first, but this is the complete opposite.
“He’s placing his reputation against gilded international elite first and the country’s national interest last.”
Sir Keir Starmer
PA
He added: “It would be nothing short of insanity to give the Chagos Islands up willingly.
“It’s home to a crucial base that we share with the US in a strategically important part of the world.”
Jenrick’s intervention came just hours after Starmer refused to say if the Chagos deal, which is expected to cost £9billion, could come out of the new surge in defence spending.
During a heated exchange at Prime Minister’s Questions. Tory MP Kieran Mullan asked Starmer: “Will he rule out the funding of any Chagos deal coming from the defence budget, yes or no?”
Starmer replied: “As I said, when the deal is complete I will put it before the House with the costings. The money yesterday was allocated to aid our capability, the single biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War.”
The Prime Minister, who is jetting off to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump, is expected to face some hurdles from the White House.
Despite the deal being supported by Joe Biden’s administration, is successor is less forgiving about giving up Diego Garcia.
GB News has approached the Foreign Office for comment.