Labour MPs rebel over Chagos Islands deal following Trump criticism
The government suffered a minor rebellion in the House of Commons over a treaty regarding the Chagos Islands.
The government has been urged to “pause” a deal that would give Mauritius sovereignty over the Islands.
This follows comments by Donald Trump on the Truth Social platform, criticizing the deal and saying the UK did so for “no reason”.
The US President’s criticisms come as the legislation to finalize the deal is in contention between the Houses of Lords and Commons.
Backbencher Graham Stringer called for a pause on the deal and, along with Labor MPs Peter Lamb and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, rebelled against the government voting in favor of amendments to the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill tabled by their colleagues.
The legislation is intended to create a solid legal basis for the operation of the strategically important Diego Garcia facility.
Ministers claimed the agreement was necessary because international court rulings in favor of Mauritius’ sovereignty claims threatened the future of the base.
As MPs debated the House of Lords’ amendments to the bill on Tuesday, Mr Stringer (Blackley and Middleton South) told the House of Commons: “I have heard (the Secretary of State) say several times in this house that the United States supports this agreement.
“The President of the United States clearly no longer supports this.”
He added that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had also asked that the bill “not go forward”.
He said: “Doesn’t that mean that these two things have to go together?”
Mr Stringer later added: “We’re going to be paying for something that we didn’t have to pay for in the past, it’s going to have consequences on our ability to pursue our defense interests in the Indian Ocean and we don’t know how much that’s going to cost.
“It’s important to change this to give us an accurate figure on these costs.”
He argued that the people of the islands – Chagossians – are being “discriminated against”, adding: “The only solution to the central issue of this problem is not a survey that the House of Lords are doing in good faith. It is to have a referendum.”
The amendment, proposing a referendum on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, was rejected by the Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, on the grounds that it would “impose a burden on the public purse” which the Lords would not do.
Mr Stringer concluded: “I do not have the opportunity to vote for what I want this afternoon, but I will vote for the amendments that the Lords put before us.”
Mr Stringer, along with Mr Lamb (Crawley), voted in support of the amendment proposing that payments to the Mauritian government be stopped “in the event that it becomes impossible to use the base for military purposes”.
The proposal was generally rejected by MPs, who voted 344 to 182, with a majority of 162 votes stating that they did not agree with the amendment.
Mr Stringer and Mr Lamb and Ms Ribeiro-Addy (Clapham and Brixton Hill) voted to support an amendment requiring the cost of the deal to be published by the Secretary of State.
This proposal was rejected by a vote of 347 to 185, a majority of 162, from MPs who stated that they did not agree with the proposal.
Mr. Stringer and Mr. Lamb also voted in support of a proposal calling for the agreement’s estimated expenditures to be published within the first fiscal year the bill becomes law.
This was rejected by the House of Commons; MPs were 347 to 184, a majority of 163.
Foreign Secretary Stephen Doughty said: “We will not stop defending our own national security interests and those of our allies.
“We will do the right thing to maintain our national security and to keep this base’s operations running as they have for decades.”
Intervening, Conservative former minister Simon Hoare argued that President Trump had “dropped the depth charge” regarding his support for the Bill and questioned what the House should understand as America’s position.
“The United States and President Trump welcomed this agreement in the spring, and the administration approved it when we discussed in detail why it was needed, the strong protections it contains, and the vital security it provides for Diego Garcia,” Mr. Doughty said.
He added: “Of course we will have discussions with the administration in the coming days to remind them of the power of this agreement and how it secures the foundation of the UK and the US.”
