A High Court judge has temporarily blocked Keir Starmer from handing the Chagos Islands to Mauritius pending a hearing over a challenge to the move, embarrassing the Prime Minister and forcing him to cancel today’s ‘signing ceremony’. The Telegraph has more.
The Prime Minister was set to attend a ‘virtual signing ceremony’ with representatives from the Mauritian Government to confirm the controversial handover deal.
But a court ruling just before 2.30am on Thursday has now barred the Government from proceeding with the deal pending a further hearing later in the day.
Opponents to the deal branded the delay a “humiliation” for Labour.
Mauritius was blindsided by the 11th-hour intervention and said it was considering the situation as of Thursday morning.
“We have not received any court order, but we heard about a hearing which could lead to a court order,” a senior official in Mauritius told the Telegraph.
“We are assessing the situation and waiting for feedback from London.”
The Ministry of Defence had planned an event to coincide with the expected unveiling of the deal on Thursday morning, with sources telling the Telegraph to expect an announcement concerning “islands quite far away”.
However, it was forced to cancel at the last minute on Thursday morning as the court case emerged.
The legal challenge was brought by Bertrice Pompe, who was born on Chagos and objected to the plan to lease back the US-UK military base at the expense of British taxpayers.
Ms Pompe has previously said the islands should remain under British control.
She wants the right to return to live where she was born after Chagossians were forced to leave the Indian Ocean territory by 1973 to make way for the base.
In a pre-action letter sent to the Foreign Office in March, she said she would face “severe obstacles” as a British citizen who does not hold Mauritian nationality.
These include possible racial discrimination and the loss of the possibility of returning.
The ruling issued by Mr Justice Goose and seen by the Telegraph said: “Pending the final determination of the claim or until further Order, it is Ordered that a stay of action by the Defendant is imposed that:
“a. The Defendant shall take no conclusive or legally binding step to conclude its negotiations concerning the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory (also known as the Chagos Archipelago) to a foreign government or bind itself as to the particular terms of any such transfer.
“b. The Defendant shall, in particular, not dispose of the territory in whole or in part. The Defendant is to maintain the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom over the British Indian Ocean Territory until further Order.”
In his ruling, Mr Justice Goose said the matter will now return to the High Court at 10.30am on Thursday with the attendance of both Ms Pompe and the Foreign Office.
The Conservatives welcomed the delay, with Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, saying: “Labour’s Chagos surrender deal is bad for our defence and security interests, bad for British taxpayers and bad for British Chagossians.
“Today’s legal intervention is a humiliation for Keir Starmer and David Lammy.”
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Sadly, the court has now ruled that the deal – set to cost British taxpayers £101 million a year – can go ahead today after all.
Downing Street had said that if a ruling was not given before 1pm, the deal could not go ahead on Thursday. The judge issued his decision less than 20 minutes before that deadline.
He said: “In considering the balance of convenience, it is necessary to bear in mind the public law context and the public interests that might be served or injured by the grant or refusal of interim relief.”
After summing up the case, he added: “I have concluded the stay should be lifted and there should be no further interim relief.”
When representatives for Ms Pompe asked if they could appeal the decision, Judge Chamberlain said: “I’m not going to stay the order. The order is discharged. If you want to, you’ll have to go to the Court of Appeal.”
A Government spokesman welcomed the ruling, claiming the agreement is “vital to protect the British people and our national security.”
The deal is now set to be signed by Sir Keir, before MPs rise for a ten-day parliamentary recess.
Stop Press 2: The Telegraph has obtained further details of the agreement – including figures that suggest Starmer’s claimed £10 billion bill is a huge underestimate:
The Telegraph understands the deal will also include security measures to prevent foreign states from building on the islands surrounding the base, after concerns were raised about Chinese, Russian and Iranian influence over Mauritius.
The deal says there will be a 24-mile “buffer zone” around the base, where nothing can be built without British consent, and that the UK will have a say in deciding on what “development” can happen on the other islands.
All foreign security forces, including civilians, will be banned from the entire archipelago.
The terms of the deal, laid before Parliament, show that the cost to the British taxpayer is likely to be far higher than Sir Keir suggested.
The treaty says that Britain will pay Mauritius £165 million for the first three years, and £120 million for the following ten years. After that, the rate will be the previous year’s cost, increased in line with inflation in the UK.
The UK will also pay £40 million into a trust fund “for the benefit of Chagossians”, and an additional £45 million every year for 25 years in development funding for Mauritius.
The Mail says the true cost could be £30 billion:
Some reports suggest the true cost of the handover will be closer to £30 billion in cash terms, assuming an average of 2% inflation, at a time when the Government has cut winter fuel payments for pensioners and has capped child benefits.
That figure is also three times the annual GDP of Mauritius.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “At least £30 billion of taxpayers’ money thrown away in a Surrender Tax – and likely much more, British territory handed over to a country aligned with China (and) our national security needlessly weakened, all to appease the lawyers and activist elite Keir Starmer surrounds himself with. Other countries may nod along, but behind closed doors, they must think we’ve lost our minds.”
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.