Labour cabinet minister Peter Kyle has said the British government will not give up any more overseas territories after a deal was announced this week to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
In an appearance on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Science Minister was asked if the surrender of any more British territories such as the Falkland Islands or Gibraltar were on the table in the wake of this week’s handover deal.
But Kyle flatly denied there are plans to give up more territories, pointing out that the specific negotiations around the Chagos Islands had been “going on for some time” – including under the previous Conservative administration.
The Chagos Islands – located in the Indian Ocean – have been claimed by Mauritius for many decades since the country’s independence. A military base used by the UK and US on the atoll of Diego Garcia will remain under British and American jurisdiction for at least another 99 years under the deal.
Kyle said: “This is a good deal. The entire text has not been published yet, and I urge people to wait for that text, because the text protects Britain’s right to have a military base there. It has been endorsed by America.”
READ MORE: UK strikes deal to transfer sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius
Critics of the handover deal have flagged concerns that the voices of the islands’ residents have not been sufficiently heard in the process – and that the move could lead to China gaining a greater military foothold in the region.
Chagos islanders living in Britain have told Sky News that they feel ‘betrayed’ after the UK decided to hand over sovereignty of the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius following a decades-long dispute.
Full story: https://t.co/t3kN8qHbY6 pic.twitter.com/ernFNKO9Iy
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 3, 2024
But Kyle pointed to the retention of the UK-US military base as a counter to these concerns, and said: “We are taking care and making sure that those people who have been unfairly treated, who were residents on the island before will have the justice that they deserve and the right to return.”
He added: “This is a win win negotiated by this government. The previous government clearly couldn’t get it across the line in the interests of the country and in the interest of the region.”
Recap on all of the news and debate from party conference 2024 by LabourList here.
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