Starmer is in a blind panic rushing to conclude his sellout deal surrendering British sovereign territory to Mauritius, with a Mauritian team in London meeting with National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell and others this week. The countdown is on with Labour trying to sneak the deal through before Trump’s inauguration in just twelve days…
Guido can reveal according to multiple sources close to the talks that the UK Government could sell out its rights to stage UK and US nuclear weapons at its military base on Diego Garcia as part of the agreement negotiations currently underway. Mauritius is a signatory to the Africa Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Pelindaba Treaty. The agreement establishes a nuclear weapons free zone in Africa and certain outlying island states, including Mauritius. The agreement, in force since 2009:
“Prohibits the research, development, manufacture, stockpiling, acquisition, testing, possession, control or stationing of nuclear weapons, as well as the dumping of radioactive wastes. The Treaty also prohibits any attack against nuclear installations in the zone by Treaty parties and requires them to maintain the highest standards of physical protection of nuclear material, facilities and equipment, which are to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes.”
The UK is seeking a very expensive lease for Diego Garcia (which the FT and Bloomberg report could be frontloaded and cost the British taxpayer £90 million a year for 99 years). The joint UK-US base is widely thought to house US Air Force nuclear strategic bombers (though neither state publicly confirms this). As such, Labour’s selling out of British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius would leave the base within the scope of the Pelindaba Treaty, and therefore banned from housing nukes in International treaty law…
David Lammy has mentioned various carve-outs for military operations, but has not confirmed whether or not Diego Garcia would be subject to the African nuclear weapons free zone, and the UK Government has not said that nukes will still be allowed. In any case, the other member states of the Pelindaba Treaty would likely challenge the issue at the UN – leaving the UK and US on the back foot. Not to mention any interest or skulduggery from China. There could be international legal challenges against the UK and US seeking to prevent nukes from being stationed on the island, pushed by hostile states…
Meanwhile, the UK National Security Adviser is on record calling British Indian Ocean Territory “tiny islands … where no-one actually goes“. Labour is actively selling out the UK and US’s nuclear options, surely Trump will be livid…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”