Chagos deal ‘set to be signed off this week’ ahead of Trump’s inauguration
The deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is set to be effectively signed off on Wednesday after Labour scrambled to finalise the agreement ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.
A source close to the Mauritian government – which had been holding up the deal – claimed the two sides had reached a consensus on the pact following fresh talks in London.
The agreement is expected to be passed by a special council of ministers in Mauritius on Wednesday at 6.30am UK time, with just days to spare before Mr Trump returns to the White House on Monday, effectively giving the green light to the plans.
Sir Keir Starmer had been racing to get the agreement over the line before the inauguration to avoid a clash with the president-elect, who is said to be strongly opposed.
However, on Tuesday night there were indications that the Government may have got cold feet about announcing a final deal before Mr Trump returns to the White House, amid a backlash from Republicans.
A source on the UK side urged caution over assuming the deal was done, suggesting the Mauritians were getting ahead of themselves.
It was reported by the Financial Times that the Government wanted to delay a formal announcement of the completed deal until it had Mr Trump’s blessing. A Foreign Office source stressed to The Telegraph that the UK would not give final sign-off on any deal without all key international partners on board.
The Mauritian government, which came into power in November, had been attempting to renegotiate parts of the agreement.
These include the length of the lease to continue UK and US use of the Diego Garcia military base, which was set at 99 years, and “fair and equitable compensation” for this, beyond the £90 million a year on offer.
It was reported on Tuesday night that the lease could be shortened to 50 years and that the latest version of the deal would see the UK pay seven years’ worth of instalments up front, worth around £630 million.
A source close to the Mauritian government told The Telegraph: “We intend to agree before Jan 20.
“PM has decided to discuss it in the cabinet on Wednesday and all the ministers are on the same page, supporting prime minister Ramgoolam on the agreement. The deal will be concluded this week.
“We understand Keir Starmer’s Government is facing immense internal pressure, but we will have historic news this week for the people of both countries. It will be in the interests of both the nations.”
News that the deal is set to be signed off imminently was criticised by allies of Mr Trump on Tuesday night.
John Kennedy, a Republican senator allied with Mr Trump, suggested on Tuesday that the Chagos deal could make war between the US and China more likely.
“This week, Left-wingers in Britain are rushing to give away a strategic US military base in the Indian Ocean before President Trump takes office and could stop the deal,” he said.
“President Biden is going along. Ignoring the potential of war increases its likelihood.”
Impact on US security
The president-elect is said to be sceptical of the pact because of its perceived implications for US security. There are concerns it will benefit China, which is expanding its influence in the region and has a trade deal with Mauritius.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK and a friend of Mr Trump, said the agreement would be met with “outright hostility” by the incoming president and his team.
The Telegraph understands that rival views have sprung up among UK officials on how Mr Trump will deal with the Chagos issue when he takes office later this month.
Some in Downing Street believe the new president’s team will soften their stance when they have been briefed on the situation by the US State Department, which supported the deal under Mr Biden’s administration.
Civil servants working for Mr Biden believe the deal balances the UK’s obligations under international law with the long-term security of the air base on Diego Garcia.
However, other officials are concerned that Mr Trump will view the handover as a concession to China and may revive fears the base will be threatened without UK ownership of the islands.
Just weeks after taking office, Labour agreed a deal with the previous Mauritian government to give away the strategically placed archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
But the agreement quickly hit a major hurdle after a change of power in Mauritius, with Navin Ramgoolam, the new leader, demanding fresh negotiations.
Bill of £9bn
Downing Street reportedly offered to provide a chunk of the reported £9 billion set to be paid over 99 years to lease back Diego Garcia upfront, in order to secure the deal in the run-up to Mr Trump’s inauguration, which is taking place next week.
Gavin Glover, the Mauritian attorney general, visited London for talks this week and said on Monday that his team had not come out of the discussions “empty-handed”.
A source close to the Mauritian government told The Telegraph that the deal had been agreed and was set to be signed off by the Mauritians on Wednesday.
They said the UK and Mauritius had reached a consensus on finances and sovereignty, with a special council of ministers convening this week to approve the agreement.
A source said that the Mauritians had agreed to the 99-year lease and accepted a clause which allows the UK “to exercise the sovereignty of Mauritius”. However, there have been reports that the lease has been reduced to 50 years, and it is unclear which concessions – if any – have been agreed on the financial side.
Mr Ramgoolam had reportedly demanded £800 million a year for as long as Britain wanted to keep hold of the air base, along with billions more in reparations.
The treaty to enforce the deal would still need to be ratified by the UK Parliament after Mr Trump returned to the White House, although Labour’s vast Commons majority should see it pass comfortably.
‘It’s a long-term deal’
Downing Street would not be drawn into saying whether the 99-year lease on the Diego Garcia base could be shortened as part of the deal when asked on Tuesday.
“Once an agreement is reached, further details of the treaty will be put before both Houses for scrutiny and treaty ratification in the usual way,” a No 10 spokesman said.
He insisted the UK would “only agree to a deal that’s in our best interests” and “would never make any agreement that compromises national security”.
Pressed about whether the lease could be reduced to 50 years, the spokesman responded: “As I say, it is a long-term deal. We are not going to agree to a deal, finalise a deal, that is not on our terms, that doesn’t secure the strong protections I just talked about.”
The spokesman also denied the UK was trying to get a deal over the line before Mr Trump was inaugurated.
Downing Street has repeatedly refused to be drawn on how much the deal to give up the islands would cost the British taxpayer.
In the Commons, the Conservatives urged caution from the Government and suggested ministers hold off for at least a week given the hostility to the proposed arrangement from Mr Trump’s allies.
“If this is such a good deal, why’s he so secretive about it?” Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, asked.
David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, replied: “I know that the shadow foreign secretary is new to the job but I just remind her that it was her government that did 10 rounds of negotiation on this issue, we picked it up, and remind her that the White House, State Department and the Pentagon believe that this is a good deal – as does the Indian government.”
Dame Priti told The Telegraph: “Labour have once again failed to defend the national interest. The fact they have been bullied by Mauritius into surrendering sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is the most shameful failure of British diplomacy this century.
“Billions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money is being thrown away and our national security and defence is being put at risk unnecessarily because Keir Starmer and David Lammy are unwilling or unable to defend Britain which will also undermine our relationship with the USA and the incoming Trump administration who have signalled their opposition to this deal.
“For months Labour have been negotiating in secret and hiding from the public and Parliament the details and costs of the surrender of sovereignty.
“Just today Labour Ministers were asked by six MPs in the House of Commons for details on the Chagos surrender and now we know why they failed to answer and come clean. It looks like they are going to pay more and give up what limited control they claimed to have, breaking what little guarantees they previously gave.
“So desperate is Keir Starmer and David Lammy to get the deal done before President Trump returns to office they caved in and backed down. Labour cannot be trusted with the defence and security of our country.”