Latest news with #ConservativePeers
Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Which England cricketer has joined OnlyFans? Take our quiz
Kemi Badenoch has announced the names of three people she has nominated as Conservative peers. Do you know which well-known party supporter made the list? Elsewhere, Surrey police have started sending out undercover officers posing as joggers. Any idea why? From a controversial statue to Taylor Swift's new album, test how closely you've kept up with the headlines and leave your score in the comments.
Telegraph
02-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Tory peers in last-ditch attempt to block Chagos Islands giveaway
Conservative peers have launched a last-ditch attempt to stop Sir Keir Starmer from giving the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Tories in the Lords have put forward a fatal motion to block the Chagos Islands treaty signed by Sir Keir last month. The deal will give up British sovereignty over the archipelago, known in the UK as the British Indian Ocean Territory, and see the UK pay Mauritius £30 billion over 99 years. Lord Callanan, the shadow foreign minister in the Lords, put forward a motion demanding that the Government 'should not ratify the agreement', citing cost and security concerns. The peer told The Telegraph: 'Spooked by a last minute legal fight, the Government's unnecessary political decision to sign away our sovereignty over the Chagos Islands will cost the British taxpayer £30 billion and put our strategic defence interests at risk. 'Taxpayers and businesses have already been hit hard by Labour's vindictive tax rises, and pensioners have been left cold from the cruel winter fuel payment cut. This Chagos sellout shows Labour's true priorities. That is why Conservatives are leading the fight against this shameful surrender deal in the House of Lords.' The Lords motion cites 'concerns about the cost of the agreement, the absence of any legal requirement to conclude such an agreement, its impact on international security, the lack of any meaningful consultation of the Chagossian people, and recognising the right of Chagossians to be registered as British Overseas Territory citizens under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022'. If a subsequent vote passes, the Government could be forced to make a statement in the Commons to explain why it is ignoring the upper chamber. It is the first time a Lords front bench has sought to use the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, passed in 2010, to block a treaty. A fatal motion, if passed, halts the process of the legislation, and the Government would ordinarily have to start again. But in the case of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, a minister can choose to override the Lords by making a statement in the Commons. Meanwhile, Misley Mandarin, a British Chagossian, is being supported by the Great British PAC, a conservative movement headed by Ben Habib, the former Reform deputy leader, to take legal action against the Government. The organisation said it had raised enough money to launch a review and cover legal fees, but is seeking another £20,000 to underwrite the case. Mr Mandarin said: 'We were evicted from our homeland by a past Labour government. Now the current Labour Government is doing something even worse – stripping us of our right to self-determination.' Mr Habib said: 'This is not just a treaty, it's a national betrayal, done behind closed doors and without a democratic mandate. But it's not too late to stop it. This is a test of whether our Government is accountable to the law, and whether Parliament has the facts to do the right thing'. The Government's announcement of the Chagos Islands deal was temporarily delayed after a legal challenge was launched by Beatrice Pompe, a Chagossian. But the last-minute bid was dismissed by the High Court, allowing Sir Keir to sign the agreement and announce that a deal had been done. Last week, China welcomed the agreement as a 'massive achievement', despite the Prime Minister having claimed that Beijing had opposed it. Beijing's ambassador to Mauritius confirmed that the nation would soon join Beijing's Belt and Road initiative.
