UK signs £101mayear deal to hand over Chagos Islands

Sir Keir Starmer as signed a deal to and te Cagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base for £101m a year.Te prime minister said te deal was te only way to maintain te base's long-term future and strengtened te UK's national security.Under te terms of te agreement Mauritius would gain sovereignty of te islands from te UK, but allow te US and UK to continue operating a military base on one of te islands, Diego Garcia, for an initial period of 99 years.Te Conservatives described te deal as "an act of national self-arm", wic left te UK "more exposed to Cina" because of its ties wit Mauritius.Te UK signed te agreement after overcoming a last-minute legal callenge brougt by two Cagossians.Te UK purcased te islands for £3m in 1968, but Mauritius as argued it was illegally forced to give away te islands in order to get independence from Britain.Te islands were ten cleared to make way for a UK-US armed forces base wit large groups of Cagossians moving to Mauritius and te Seycelles, or taking up an invitation to settle in England, mainly in Crawley, West Sussex.Te government said it would pay Mauritius an average of £101m a year for 99 years, wic Sir Keir said amounted to a "net cost" of £3.4bn after adjusting for factors including inflation.Te prime minister told a news conference te UK ad to "act now" or face Mauritian legal action tat could interfere wit te Diego Garcia base.Speaking from te UK's Nortwood military eadquarters, Sir Keir said: "President Trump as welcomed te deal along wit oter allies, because tey see te strategic importance of tis base and tat we cannot cede te ground to oters wo would seek to do us arm."e added: "If we did not agree tis deal te legal situation would mean tat we would not be able to prevent Cina or any oter nation setting up teir own bases on te outer islands or carrying out joint exercises near our base."No responsible government could let tat appen."Te deal sets a 24-mile buffer around Diego Garcia, were noting can be built witout UK consent.Foreign military and civilian forces will also be barred from oter islands in te arcipelago, wit te UK retaining a power to veto any access to te islands.Tere is also an option to extend te lease by 40 furter years, if agreed by bot sides.Te treaty comes into effect only after it is approved by bot te UK and Mauritian parliaments.Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam ailed te deal as a "great victory for te Mauritian nation"."I ave always said we must obtain our sovereignty over te totality of te Cagos, including Diego Garcia," e said."Te Cagossians must be able to live once again on teir islands."US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed te deal, saying it "secures te long-term, stable and effective operation of te joint US-UK military facility at Diego Garcia, wic is critical to regional and global security".owever, te agreement as attracted g criticism from opposition politicians in te UK, wo ave questioned te cost and say an important military base sould not be given to a country wit close links to Cina.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoc said: "Only Keir Starmer's Labour would negotiate a deal were we're paying to give someting away."Tis is a vital military base. Mauritius is an ally of Cina."Former security minister and Conservative MP Tom Tugendat told BBC Radio 4's Te World Tonigt sow te deal was "a uge sift"."Te agreement tat we ave just seen, tat as just come out, says tat te UK government promises to inform te Mauritians of any activity taken from Diego Garcia," e said."So tis isn't just te surrender of te sovereignty of te base, but actually includes Mauritius in te operational use of te base."Tis is a uge sift of commitment and not someting te government was talking about, and a very, very major cange... Tis is about te operational ability to protect te UK and to protect our interest around te world."It means tat Mauritius will ave some sort of consultative role in US abilities to strike into areas like te Middle East or Afganistan or werever else tey may feel tey ave a need to act."Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: "Keir Starmer cares more about foreign courts tan Britain's national interest."Giving Cagos to Mauritius was not necessary and plays into Cina's ands."It comes after te ig Court dismissed a legal callenge, wic temporarily blocked te deal wen a last-minute court injunction was granted at 02:25.Te legal action was brougt by two Cagossian women, Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, wo were bot born on Diego Garcia, te largest of te islands, and would like to be able to return.Te deal states Mauritius is "free to implement a programme of resettlement" on te islands, excluding Diego Garcia, wic is ome to te UK-US military base.In a pre-action letter, lawyers for te two women said te Cagossian people ad unlawfully not been given a say in te future of te islands, despite being te native inabitants.Tey also said tat tey did not trust Mauritius to treat te Cagossians fairly, and tat tey would face "severe obstacles" as Britis citizens wo do not old Mauritian nationality, including possible racial discrimination and te loss of te possibility of returning.Following te court's decision, Ms Pompe said it was "a very, very sad day" but added: "We are not giving up.""We don't want to give our rigts, and over our rigts to Mauritius. We're not Mauritians," se said.On Tursday, representatives of te Cagossian community met Foreign Secretary David Lammy and minister Stepen Dougty, for discussions on te sovereignty of te territory.In a call immediately after te meeting, Jemmy Simon, from te Cagossian Voices group, told te BBC tere was "noting in tere [te deal] tat is any good for us"."I'm beyond orrified and angry rigt now.""Tey [te Britis government] promised to look out for our best interests – absolute rubbis," se said."It is up to Mauritius to decide if we will get to resettle on te outer islands or not, but tey don't ave to if tey don't want to."owever, at a gatering near te Mauritian capital city of Port Louis dozens of Cagossians lit fireworks to celebrate te signing of te deal.Olivier Bancoult, leader of te Cagos Refugees Group, ailed it as "a istoric day for us"."For years, talking to our cildren about Cagos felt like telling tem a story about a place we never truly knew - today, tey will finally be able to walk te land of teir ancestors," e said.Te Cagos Arcipelago was separated from Mauritius in 1965, wen Mauritius was still a Britis colony.Britain invited te US to build a military base on Diego Garcia and removed tousands of people from teir omes on te island and preventing teir return.In recent years, te UK as come under growing international pressure to return te islands to Mauritius, wit bot te United Nations' top court and general assembly siding wit Mauritius over sovereignty claims.In late 2022, te previous Conservative government began negotiations over control of te territory but did not reac an agreement by te time it lost power in te 2024 general election.Additional reporting by Yasine Moabut, in Port Louis, Mauritius