Many question why the UK is so desperate to hand over the strategically vital Chagos Islands and pay £90 million for the pleasure. As always – it’s the personalities…
Starmer’s close friend Philippe Sands KC has acted as chief counsel for Mauritius on Chagos since 2010. He spoke to students last year about how great it is that Brits ‘celebrate’ him for ‘humiliating’ the UK in non-binding international courts. Strangely he isn’t so keen to talk to the press, who were barred from a conference event at which he spoke over the weekend…
Shy Sands has also deleted his X account. The public would have been able to see from it that Mauritius’ chief Chagos counsel had publicly campaigned for Starmer, supporting his “great friend” in 2020’s Labour leadership election. Sands boosted Starmer’s promotional videos and went so far as to volunteer on his leadership phone bank. A deep friendship indeed…
One year earlier Sands and Starmer hosted a cosy one-on-one in conversation event at the trendy Hay Festival. Fast forward to today and Sands is still going on his pro-Labour activism – in last year’s general election he publicly urged voters to support Labour MP Rushanara Ali in Bethnal Green and Stepney. It might be awkward at those north London dinners if the Chagos surrender doesn’t end up getting shoved through at any cost…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”
