Deal that will see UK hand over control of Chagos Islands to Mauritius will be signed today

A deal that will see the UK hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is set to be signed today.

It is understood at Sir Keir Starmer will attend a virtual ceremony on Thursday morning, despite criticism from the Conservatives and Reform UK.

The government has argued that international legal rulings in favour of Mauritius mean this handover is necessary.

As part of the deal, the UK will lease back a military base on the archipelago for 99 years.

Later, MPs will be updated on the terms of the deal in the Commons, which could include extending this lease by an additional 40 years.

Just this week, Defence Secretary John Healey said the facility on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands, was “essential to our security”.

He told MPs: “We’ve had to act, as the previous government started to do, to deal with that jeopardy.

“We’re completing those arrangements and we’ll report to the House when we can.”

Critics argue that handing over the islands could end up benefitting China, which has growing reach in the Indian Ocean.

Although the Tories have criticised Labour’s handling of the negotiations, the discussions began back when they were in power.

Progress was also delayed when Donald Trump began his second term – with Secretary of State Marco Rubio once suggesting the deal posed a “serious threat” to America’s security.

But during a meeting with Sir Keir in the Oval Office, the US president said he was willing to “go along” and support the deal.

Last year, some Chagossians living in Britain said they were opposed to the handover – with one, Frankie Bontemps, telling Sky News he was in “mourning”.

He said: “They decided the future of the island without even consulting the population, the Chagossian people, who are the heart of this tragedy.

“We are voiceless. I don’t know what else to say because we feel betrayed again.”

Another, Jemmy, said: “Mauritius is not my home. The UK is not my home. Chagos is my home.

“We’ve been fighting against all odds to become somebody – and we still haven’t – but that is because we do not have our feet planted on our homeland.”

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