Chagos Islands deal must be ratified to secure Diego Garcia, peers say
Mauritius is 'likely' to resume its campaign to secure a binding judgment on sovereignty against Britain unless the agreement is rubber-stamped, the House of Lords International Agreements Community (HLIAC) warned.
In a report published on Wednesday, the peers concluded that the Government 'cannot ignore' the risk of an 'adverse ruling' putting the UK's right to run a joint UK-US base in jeopardy.
The deal signed last month after long-running negotiations returns sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, but will see Britain lease back the military site on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
It follows a 2019 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice which said the islands should be handed over to Mauritius.
Critics argue it comes at too high a cost to the taxpayer, which is expected to run to billions of pounds, and that the retention of the base will interfere withh Chagossians right to resettle.
Islanders were expelled from the archipelago between 1965 and 1973 to make way for the military site and have not been allowed to return.
Chairman of HLIAC Lord Goldsmith said that 'like all treaties, the agreement reflects a compromise' and highlighted that there was no guarantee it would be extended after the initial 99-year term agreed between the two countries.
'However, the UK cannot ignore the advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which found that the Chagos Archipelago had been unlawfully detached from Mauritius at the time of its independence in the 1960s,' he said.
'If the agreement is not ratified there would be a greater risk from the adverse ruling of an international court to the future of the military base.'
As well as establishing a £40 million fund for Chagossians, the UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million a year for 99 years in order to lease back the Diego Garcia base – a total cost of at least £13 billion in cash terms.
Using Government accounting principles to adjust for long-term costs, officials have claimed the deal amounts to an average of £101 million a year in 2025/26 prices with an overall cost of £3.4 billion a year 'using a net present value methodology'.
The deal also includes provisions preventing development on the rest of the archipelago without the UK's consent, which the Government has argued will prevent countries such as China setting up their own facilities.
The agreement has also been backed by the United States.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are pleased that the committee has welcomed the Diego Garcia base deal. This deal is vital for our national security.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
28 minutes ago
- Times
Reform would be largest party if general election held today
Reform UK would become Britain's largest political party if an election were held today, putting Nigel Farage in pole position to become Britain's next prime minister, a major survey suggests. YouGov's first MRP poll since Labour's landslide election victory last year reveals the extent of Sir Keir Starmer's fall from grace and suggests the party would lose 233 of the 412 seats it won. Reform, meanwhile, is on track to have 271 new MPs, up from the five that it has now, which would make it the largest party in a hung parliament. The Tories would lose another 75 seats, leaving Kemi Badenoch's party with just 46 MPs, behind Labour, Reform and the Liberal Democrats. However, no party would find it straightforward to form a government. If Reform attempted to build a coalition with the Conservatives they would still be nine seats short of a majority.
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Listen before investing in Sheffield trailblazer neighbourhoods'
What's it like to live in a "trailblazer neighbourhood"? The Sheffield suburbs of Batemoor and Jordanthorpe are among 25 postcodes around the country which will benefit from £20m of government investment over the next 10 years. Yet when the BBC visited both areas, residents said they wanted to be listened to before the money is is a bit of mystery surrounding the funding - neither Sheffield City Council nor Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh bid for it, and there are wards in the constituency with higher levels of Rachel Reeves's announcement was based on "robust metric-based methodology" that determined how the trailblazer neighbourhoods were Butcher, manager of the Grace food bank in the S8 and S17 areas, said she was surprised by the news."To be honest, the first we knew about this was when the BBC contacted us and then we were all desperately trying to find out what it was."I think the really important thing is to listen to the community; often people don't say anything because they think there is no point and they won't be heard. They need to get those quiet voices."People have lots of ideas. There was a planting project in Jordanthorpe shopping precinct recently and loads of people came to help, so people do care about community. There are lots of people doing great things."I know that people say they want more things for young people to do, that's high on people's priorities." On the streets there was also support for investment in youth Laidler, 58, said: "There should be more facilities for kids. I live where the old Jordanthorpe school is and they should make that into a field, put some ramps on it and a football pitch, make it somewhere for them to play. There's nothing for children to do."I do like murals - there should be more street art and they should sort the graffiti, which looks a mess."Shop worker Lyndsay, who did not give her surname, agreed: "The kids need something to do, there's nothing around here. We used to have youth clubs and they need somewhere to go with pool tables and stuff to stop them hanging around by the shops."The "flexible" funding will arrive from April 2026, and can be spent on projects such as youth clubs, libraries, cultural venues, and health and wellbeing appreciation of green space in the area, several people said there needed to be more parking Colton, 78, said: "There are a lot of green paths which could be cut so they can get more cars in."The flats used to be for pensioners and disabled people but nowadays are for families and they have cars. Parking has exploded."A woman passing by added: "I know green space is of big value, but get rid of a bit of the green space to make more parking." Haigh, the local MP, said the funding was unexpected but "long overdue and very welcome"."Batemoor and Jordanthorpe are the only areas in South Yorkshire named in this first wave of investment."These communities have shown incredible resilience in the face of over a decade of neglect, and it's right they now get the support they deserve."This funding will go directly into our community to improve the area for residents and drive long-term regeneration." Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
BBC News
38 minutes ago
- BBC News
Jersey States panel backs cannabis farm noise and smell complaint
A States' panel has upheld a complaint over the way the government handled residents' concerns about noise and smells from a cannabis farm in complaints panel said the Infrastructure and Environment Department had prioritised the interests of the Northern Leaf farm in St Lawrence to the detriment of people living nearby last panel said the government had taken too long to deal with residents' complaints, criticising its use of an unjust "sniff test" to decide whether cannabis odours from the farm were a Scate, Chief Officer of Infrastructure and Environment, said the department acknowledged the report but did not accept the findings. The panel said the government officers had "misinterpreted" the law that covered how nuisances should be dealt added that delays in bringing forward an abatement notice for noise and any action in relation to the odours had been unreasonable and that there was enough evidence to have acted to quicker in respect to "odours emanating from the site".Head of the panel Geoffrey Crill said: "The fact that no precedents existed should not have prevented action from being taken by the department. "The board considers it unacceptable that the department simply extended the monitoring of odours in order to meet a threshold that had already been acknowledged as unworkable." The government rejected the panel's decision, saying there were "many inaccuracies" in its Scate said: "Our responsibility is to uphold Jersey's regulatory framework fairly and impartially - that means acting in the interests of all parties, residents, businesses and the wider community."In the case of Northern Leaf, the department has issued a number of enforcement and noise asbatement notices and we have taken clear regulatory action in response to concerns raised. "We stand by our actions taken, ensuring that our interventions lead to meaningful and lasting improvements for those affected." 'Panel oversteps boundaries' Mr Scate said there had been a "substantial investment of resources" into the case, including more than 10 officers over a four-year period and "over 1,000 hours of focused effort".He said: "We do not accept the view that more could or should have been done - our team has acted at all times with diligence, professionalism and within the scope of legislation."Mr Scate added that the department was "not afforded the opportunity to participate fully in the panel's hearing process". He said: "The absence of a right to reply or to clarify key information before conclusions were drawn is disappointing and does not reflect principles of procedural fairness."We believe the panel continues to overstep the boundaries of its remit, particularly in matters relating to professional judgment and legal process."The department said it would report to the States within the next three months with a full response to the decision.
