Earlier today in Parliament, Andrew Rosindell MP, Member of Parliament for Romford, raised serious concerns about the Government’s decision to surrender British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands - at a cost of £35 billion to British taxpayers.
Despite Labour voting against an amendment that would have given MPs a say, the Government insists the deal is worth £3.4 billion over 99 years.
The Minister claims that surrendering the land rights to one of the West's most strategically important military bases in the world is in Britain's national security interests.
On top of that, the Minister could only fall back on Brexit, which, unlike this atrocious deal, was voted on by the British people, when in this case the Chagossians don't even get a say.
Last week, Labour voted against our amendment, which would have given the House of Commons a say on the Government’s reckless decision to surrender £35 billion of taxpayers’ hard-earned money to Mauritius for the privilege of giving away our own sovereign territory, but we still have no certainty from the Government about the fate of the vital Diego Garcia base after the 99-year period. What is stopping Mauritius demanding billions more if the UK wishes to extend the use of Diego Garcia for another 40 years? Would it not be more sensible to save the money, ditch the surrender deal and the keep the Chagos islands British?
Andrew Rosindell MP, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
As the hon. Gentleman knows from the many questions that I have answered on this issue, and indeed the debate we had in this place that secured the Bill’s Third Reading, the cost of the agreement in today’s money is £101 million, and the net present value over 99 years is £3.4 billion. However much he comes up with other fantasy figures, they are simply incorrect; these are verified by the Government Actuary’s Department. If he wants to talk about spending and value, I will not apologise for spending on our national security and keeping this country and our allies safe. For comparison, he might like to reflect on the fact that the annual payment is 20% less than the cost of the festival of Brexit.
Stephen Doughty MP, Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
