Lammy was asked in the Commons today as he talked up the need to spend more on defence whether it might be a good idea to spend the £18 billion the UK has earmarked for its Chagos surrender on the armed forces instead. The Foreign Secretary wasn’t keen on answering that one…
Labour also refused to conduct a national security impact assessment on the deal – overseas territories minister Stephen Doughty instead says the negotiated agreement “protects and secures” UK/US national security interests by keeping the base on Diego Garcia running. Shadow armed forces minister Mark Francois tells Guido the “Chagos chaos continues and is now in danger of becoming a threat to our national security and that of our allies, including the United States. That’s why we tabled a question asking the Foreign Office to conduct a specific assessment of the national security implications of the Chagos deal, aside from just the cost – which at up to £18 billion is completely daft anyway.” Almost the size of the ‘black hole’…
A national security impact assessment would cover major disruptive risks and policy like Chagos’ transfer would be in its remit. It would assess live concerns Guido reported over the nuclear weapons held on Diego Garcia – which are at risk from Mauritius having signed the Africa Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty – as well as the capability of Mauritius to defend the military base once the archipelago is its sovereign territory. There is also a massive question mark over whether the UK would be able to use the islands for its own defence purposes independently of the United States. Would be good to know…
Mauritian PM Navin Ramgoolam is now being urged by his politicians to demand more money from the UK for the deal. Take it out of the defence budget…
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…”