Chagos deal to cost UK ‘10 times more than claimed'
Conservative Dame Priti Patel has accused ministers of attempting to "cover up" the true cost of the agreement, alleging an "accountancy trick" was used to present the figure as £3.4 billion.
The higher £34.7 billion figure, released by the Government Actuary's Department, is a nominal amount, which, when adjusted for inflation, is estimated to be around £10 billion in today's money.
The government reportedly used a "social time preference" principle, in use since 2003, to reduce the figure by between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent per year.
Dame Priti criticised Labour figures, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, for what she called a "terrible deal".
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