Chagos deal critics would ‘weaken security of the British people’, says defence secretary

The defence secretary has said critics of the Chagos Islands deal, signed today, would “weaken the security of the British people”.

John Healey told the House of Commons that the agreement secures Diego Garcia, the military base located in the Chagos Islands, and that “anyone who would abandon this deal would abandon the base.”

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Healey said: “For more than 50 years, the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia has been a launch pad to defeat terrorists, to protect threats to our nation and to protect our economic security.

“This base keeps Britain secure at home and strong abroad. This afternoon, the prime minister has signed a treaty with prime minister Ramgoolam of Mauritius, which guarantees the full continued UK control of Diego Garcia for the next 99 years and beyond.”

He added: “The prime minister has ensured that the UK retains full control of Diego Garcia throughout the next century and beyond. Quite simply, the loss of Diego Garcia military base would now be unthinkable.

“And yet without action, without this deal, within weeks we could face losing legal rulings, and within just a few years, the base would become inoperable…

“Anyone who would abandon this deal would abandon the base, they would weaken the security of the British people, and they would weaken the strength of the British armed forces.

“By signing this deal, the British flag will fly over the Diego Garcia base well into the next century.”

The Conservative Party reacted furiously to the defence secretary’s statement, with regular shouts of “rubbish” from the opposition benches.

Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge vowed to “abandon” the deal and “do everything possible to oppose it.”

He told the House: “The government are not surrendering British sovereign territory because of military defeat, nor because of a binding legal verdict, but wilfully due to a total failure to take a stand and fight for Britain’s interests on the world stage.

“The government should not be surrendering strategic, vital, sovereign territory, especially when we face such threats, and they should certainly shouldn’t be paying billions for the privilege.”

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