Starmer declines to say whether defence spending increase includes Chagos cash
The Prime Minister described the deal being negotiated with Mauritius as ‘extremely important for our security’.
Sir Keir Starmer has declined to say whether money for a deal with the Chagos Islands would come out of the increase in defence spending.
The Prime Minister told the Commons that the increase to 2.5% of GDP announced on Tuesday is for “our capability on defence and security in Europe”, and described the deal being negotiated with Mauritius as “extremely important for our security”.
The UK is in talks with Mauritius about handing over sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, but leasing back the strategically important Diego Garcia military base which is used by the US.
The Conservatives have called on ministers to explain as soon as possible if money for the deal will come out of the uplift announced on Tuesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, Defence Secretary John Healey did not say whether the Chagos money was included when asked, and the issue was pressed by Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Conservative Party leader asked Sir Keir: “This morning the Defence Secretary could not say if the Chagos deal would come out of the defence budget. Can he confirm to the House that none of the defence uplift includes payments for his Chagos deal?”
The PM replied in the Commons: “The additional spend I announced yesterday is for our capability on defence and security in Europe, as I made absolutely clear yesterday.
“The Chagos deal is extremely important for our security, for US security. The US are rightly looking at it. When it’s finalised I’ll put it before the House with the costings.
“The figures being bandied around are absolutely wide of the mark, the deal is well over a century but the funding I announced yesterday is for our capability to put ourselves in a position to rise to a generational challenge, that is what that money is all about and I thought she supported it.”
Mr Healey had been asked on Times Radio whether any potential funding for a deal was being accounted for with the new defence budget.
He told the station: “This is about our defence spending. It’s about our mainstream defence budget.
“It meets an election commitment to meet 2.5% (of GDP spent on defence) at least three years earlier than anyone expected.
“And as far as the Chagos Islands go, that’s a deal that’s in the pipeline. It’s not yet signed and not yet ratified in any treaty that will be necessary before Parliament.”
Speaking after Prime Minister’s Questions, a spokesman for Mrs Badenoch said: “I think this all points to what amounts to really a cover-up of where this money for the Chagos surrender is coming from.
“It is incumbent on the Government as soon as possible to come and explain where the money is coming from, and if it is coming from the defence budget it makes all of the announcements over the last 24 hours seem (to be) ringing increasingly hollow.”
He also indicated that the US President should block the deal if it is a bad deal.
Asked how long the US President should take to consider the agreement, he replied: “I haven’t seen the deal, so I don’t know how long, but I assume he has, and hopefully he will stop it.”
On Tuesday a Conservative former defence minister suggested that money earmarked for the Chagos deal could instead be spent on the armed forces.
Andrew Murrison asked the Prime Minister: “Will he look at other things that perhaps present easier choices, and in particular, his choice to spend billions of pounds on Mauritius? And will he repurpose that money in defence of our armed forces?”
