Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to abandon his "disgraceful" Chagos Islands deal and redirect the money to boost the Royal Navy. Around £670 million has been earmarked for the controversial plan to hand over the territory to Mauritius, which has been paused amid US opposition.
The Conservatives called for £400 million of the funding to instead be used to speed up the delivery of new warships. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: "National security is the number one priority of any Government. Yet, whether it’s making a man with links to Russia, China and the world’s most notorious paedophile our Ambassador in Washington, failing to properly fund our armed forces, or giving away British territory in the Chagos Islands, Keir Starmer continually puts our national security at risk."
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge added: "Instead of spending money to cede sovereignty, Labour should be investing in our Armed Forces. Ongoing conflict in the Middle East has exposed serious weaknesses in our Navy which is only getting worse as the Government continues to delay the critical defence investment plan. That is why the Conservatives have a plan to redirect the funds earmarked for the Chagos handover into accelerating the construction of new frigates for the Royal Navy, the 13 ships we ordered in government."
The Chagos deal struck last year would see the UK hand the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, but pay to lease back the Diego Garcia joint military base with the US. The Government has argued the move is necessary to guarantee the future of Diego Garcia after an international court ruling in 2019 backed Mauritian claims to sovereignty. Critics warn the cost of the pact could amount to £35 billion, that it risks the military base and could allow China to establish a presence.
Defence minister Luke Pollard responded: "It’s beyond belief for Badenoch and Cartlidge to claim they would fix a Royal Navy that they left hollowed out through years of underfunding. This is Tory arsonists claiming they could put out their own fire. We’re already turning around the mess that Badenoch’s bunglers left behind, putting an extra £300 million into shipbuilding over the past year, funded by the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the Cold War."
