UK massively underreporting true cost of Indian Ocean base deal
The Chagos archipelago, comprising more than 60 islands, was separated from Mauritius by Britain in 1965, three years before the East African country gained independence. In 1966, the largest island, Diego Garcia, was leased to the US for military use, and around 2,000 inhabitants were displaced. Mauritius has since sought to reclaim the territory, and in 2019 the International Court of Justice advised that the UK should end its administration 'as rapidly as possible.'
In May, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed an agreement transferring sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius. The deal allows Washington and London to retain control of the joint military base on Diego Garcia for an initial period of 99 years, with a total value of $3.9 billion, according to an earlier Reuters report.
Citing documents from the Government Actuary's Department, The Telegraph said on Monday the deal will involve payments totaling nearly £35 billion ($47.1 billion) over the 99-year leaseback duration, compared with the official figure of £3.4 billion ($4.6 billion).
Starmer has reportedly told the House of Commons that higher estimates of £9 billion ($12.1 billion) and £18 billion ($24.2 billion) were 'absolutely wide of the mark.'
The Telegraph said the lower official total was reached by applying inflation estimates and then using an accounting method sometimes employed for long-term projects, but not typically when the government seeks to emphasize spending levels.
Conservative Party lawmakers have accused ministers of downplaying the scale of the payments, with some calling the approach 'statistical jiggery-pokery' intended to mislead.
The outlet quoted a government spokesperson describing the Diego Garcia base as 'essential to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping British people safe.' Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam had also previously hailed the agreement as a historic step toward 'completing the total process of decolonization.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
3 hours ago
- Russia Today
African state denies talks on resettling Palestinians
South Sudan has denied claims that it is in talks with Israel to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza to the East African nation. Reports indicate that West Jerusalem is seeking agreements with third countries to accept people displaced from the besieged enclave. The Associated Press reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Israel had engaged South Sudan in discussions as part of a broader push to facilitate mass emigration from the territory, which has been devastated by the 22-month offensive against Hamas. The South Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation issued a statement on Wednesday saying the reports are 'baseless and do not reflect the official position or policy of the government.' 'South Sudan firmly refutes recent media reports claiming that the government …is engaged in discussion with the State of Israel regarding the resettlement of Palestinian nationals from Gaza in South Sudan,' the ministry stated. Israeli forces have been carrying out an offensive in Gaza since 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 captives. Official estimates put the enclave's death toll at over 61,000, while the UN warns more than 2 million residents face famine. Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump proposed moving Gazans to other countries as part of a plan to turn the region into a 'Riviera of the Middle East.' Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a supporter of the idea, said Israel would pursue a full military takeover of Gaza before handing it to a transitional Arab government. Critics say the move would amount to forced displacement, while the UN has called it ethnic cleansing. Last Thursday, the Financial Times reported that US advisory firm Boston Consulting Group had modeled relocating about a quarter of all Palestinians to other countries, including Somalia. In March, Somalia and its breakaway region, Somaliland, denied receiving any such proposal from the US or Israel. On Wednesday, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit's office said he met Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel for 'high-level' talks on strengthening ties in energy, agriculture, healthcare, security, and water management.
Russia Today
a day ago
- Russia Today
UK massively underreporting true cost of Indian Ocean base deal
The British government will end up paying ten times more than publicly acknowledged to transfer the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, The Telegraph has reported. The Chagos archipelago, comprising more than 60 islands, was separated from Mauritius by Britain in 1965, three years before the East African country gained independence. In 1966, the largest island, Diego Garcia, was leased to the US for military use, and around 2,000 inhabitants were displaced. Mauritius has since sought to reclaim the territory, and in 2019 the International Court of Justice advised that the UK should end its administration 'as rapidly as possible.' In May, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed an agreement transferring sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius. The deal allows Washington and London to retain control of the joint military base on Diego Garcia for an initial period of 99 years, with a total value of $3.9 billion, according to an earlier Reuters report. Citing documents from the Government Actuary's Department, The Telegraph said on Monday the deal will involve payments totaling nearly £35 billion ($47.1 billion) over the 99-year leaseback duration, compared with the official figure of £3.4 billion ($4.6 billion). Starmer has reportedly told the House of Commons that higher estimates of £9 billion ($12.1 billion) and £18 billion ($24.2 billion) were 'absolutely wide of the mark.' The Telegraph said the lower official total was reached by applying inflation estimates and then using an accounting method sometimes employed for long-term projects, but not typically when the government seeks to emphasize spending levels. Conservative Party lawmakers have accused ministers of downplaying the scale of the payments, with some calling the approach 'statistical jiggery-pokery' intended to mislead. The outlet quoted a government spokesperson describing the Diego Garcia base as 'essential to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping British people safe.' Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam had also previously hailed the agreement as a historic step toward 'completing the total process of decolonization.'
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Russia Today
UK releases 26,000 inmates early due to lack of prison space
Over 26,000 prisoners, some serving lengthy terms, have been freed in the UK as part of a soft-justice program aimed at easing the overcrowding of jails, the Daily Mail has reported, citing government data. Among those released between September 2024 and March 2025 were 248 convicts sentenced to 14 years or more for committing serious crimes, the paper said in an article on Sunday. The majority of the criminals freed by the cabinet of Prime Minister Keir Starmer were British citizens, but there were also over 2,600 foreign nationals, the figures show. An average of 3,461 prisoners have been released each month under the scheme, which allows some inmates to leave after serving 40% of their sentences. Based on this rate, the Daily Mail estimates that the total number of those freed could reach 45,000 by the end of the program's first year. According to the paper, the prisoners thanked Starmer after being let out and vowed to be 'lifelong Labour voters.' However, some of them committed new crimes just hours after being released, according to the report. When asked about the program, a Justice Ministry spokesman said the Labor cabinet 'had no choice but to take decisive action to stop prisons overflowing and leave police unable to make arrests' after the previous Conservative government left the UK's penitentiaries in a dire straits. 'We are building 14,000 prison places and reforming sentencing so jails never run out of space again,' he said. Tory justice spokesman Robert Jenrick said that the number of the freed criminals was 'shocking,' adding that it explained 'why Britain feels lawless.' The British public is 'sick of soft justice,' Jenrick told the Daily Mail. The leader of Reform UK, Nigel Farage, claimed last month that the crime rate in the UK had spiked 50% since the 1990s and that the country is 'facing societal collapse' as a result. According to Interior Ministry data, knife crime in England and Wales rose 87% over the past decade, with almost 55,000 incidents in 2024 alone. In July, a study suggested that 39% of all mobile phone thefts across Europe now occur in the UK.
