Number 10 is all over the place after the Chagos surrender deal was torpedoed last week. Asked at the Lobby briefing of press hacks today if the government believes the US still officially supports the deal, the spokesman said:
“Discussions continue, and we have been clear throughout that Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset not just for us but for the US as well, and that’s why we sought and received US support… You’ve got public pronouncements from the US. We will obviously update on developments as you’d expect…”
The spokesman said multiple times the deal won’t go ahead without the explicit backing of the Americans. There is still no timetable for when the surrender will return to Parliament. The clock is ticking, and Starmer’s attempts to schmooze Trump with flattering phone calls aren’t helping. Save Chagos!
The day after Starmer U-turned and refused to blame Trump for the war Rachel Reeves told the Mirror:
“Obviously no sensible person is a supporter of the Iranian regime, but to start a conflict without being clear what the objectives are and not being clear about how you are going to get out of it, I do think that is a folly and it is one that is affecting families here in the UK but also families in the US and around the world.”