Starmer: most important thing about Chagos Islands agreement was securing future of base
Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands by saying it had been welcomed with “warm words” by the US.
Speaking at an event where he had launched investment in green technology, the prime minister said:
The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday.
The move to hand sovereignty of Britain’s last African colony has been criticised by prominent figures in the Conservative party leadership race, and by MPs from Reform UK. James Cleverly decried it as “weak”, while Rupert Lowe called it a “capitulation”. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for an immediate debate when parliament sits on Monday.
Earlier on Friday Jonathan Powell, who was leading negotiations for the new government with Mauritius over the islands, also defended the deal, saying that the agreement had been reached in lockstep with the US, and the final treaty “secured all of their red lines.”
The process of negotiating with Mauritius took 13 rounds, 11 of which were held under the previous Tory administration who started the process.
Key events
Summary of the day …
-
Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands by saying it had been welcomed with “warm words” by the US. The prime minister said “The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday”
-
The Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey had said the deal offering sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was the “right things for us to do”, but it has faced criticism from the Conservatives. Disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson has decried the agreement as “sheer political correctness”, while former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns has called Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly “stupid” for opening up the negotiations in 2022
-
Jonathon Powell, who had been leading the negotiations for the new Labour government, said that it secures the future of the base for the next 99 years at a time when the UK’s continued possession of its last African colony was looking increasing legally tenuous. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for an immediate debate when parliament sits on Monday. The treaty has to be ratified by parliament before it can come into effect
-
Starmer, chancellor Rachel Reeves and energy secretary Ed Miliband all gave speeches at a glass manufacturer announcing government investment in green technologies in Merseyside this morning. The government has announced plans to commit almost £22bn over 25 years to fund carbon capture and storage projects. Starmer described the project as “the politics of national renewal in action”
-
Starmer has said that he is committed to a free vote on assisted dying in England and Wales, and that the government will remain neutral
-
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has personally intervened and demanded that the large advertising board in London’s Euston mainline station is switched off
-
GB News has lost a high court bid to temporarily block Ofcom from sanctioning it after the regulator claimed that a Q&A with Rishi Sunak broke impartiality rules. Barristers for GB News said that the publication of the sanction would cause “irreparable damage” to its reputation, but in a ruling on Friday Mr Justice Chamberlain said that the “likely impact” on the channel had been “overstated”
Thank you very much for reading and for all your comments today. I will see you again soon.
Transport secretary Louise Haigh has personally intervened and demanded that the large advertising board in London’s Euston mainline station is switched off, as part, she said of tasking Network Rail with “a clear plan to immediately improve conditions for passengers.”
The station has come in for renewed recent criticism, not least of which for replacing the main departures board in front of the platforms with a giant billboard, and relegating train information to a smaller number of screens seemingly plonked at random in the station.
Gwyn Topham, our transport correspondent, has more here: Euston station’s big advertising screens turned off after overcrowding fears
PA Media reports that GB News has lost a high court bid to temporarily block Ofcom from sanctioning it after the regulator claimed that a Q&A with Rishi Sunak broke impartiality rules.
Barristers for GB News said that the publication of the sanction would cause “irreparable damage” to its reputation, but in a ruling on Friday Mr Justice Chamberlain said that the “likely impact” on the channel had been “overstated”.
Ed Davey: Chagos Islands deal was ‘right thing for us to do’
The Liberal Democrat leader had said the deal offering sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was the “right things for us to do”, and reminded people that the process started under the previous Conservative administration.
Speaking to PA Media, Ed Davey said:
I have seen the Conservatives complaining about it but they started all the talks. I think it was James Cleverly when he was foreign secretary.
People need to realise that this had to be done for us to follow the law. It was the right thing for us to do as well, but let’s just make sure they have done it in the right way.
Earlier today Keir Starmer said “The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday.”
Jonathon Powell, who had been leading the negotiations for the new Labour government, said that it secures the future of the base for the next 99 years at a time when the UK’s continued possession of its last African colony was looking increasing legally tenuous.
Disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson has decried the agreement as “sheer political correctness” and “a desire to look like the good guys … a desire to look as though we’re unbundling the last relics of our empire”. Former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns has called Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly “stupid” for opening up the negotiations in 2022.
Britain formally took possession of the Chagos Islands and nearby Mauritius from France in 1814, and between 1967 and 1973 the entire population of the Chagos Islands were forced to leave their homes by the British. The expulsion of the Chagossians was found to have been unlawful by the UK high court in 2000.
Mother of the House Diane Abbott has spoken to Sky News about the Labour donations and gifts row, and suggested that the prime minister offering to pay back some gifts suggests he knows he was in the wrong.
In comments the Labour leadership are likely to find unhelpful, the veteran MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington told viewers:
I do think, as a general rule, when millionaires give a lot of money to individual politicians, they’re not just doing it out of altruism at some point. So they think that that politician is gonna, you know, listen to them. Giving back any money at all makes it look as if you are now realising that you did something wrong.
Earlier today Keir Starmer said he had made a personal decision to pay back some of the gifts ahead of the formal definition of new principles, telling the media:
We’re going to draw up some principles so that everyone can see the basis on which donations can be accepted. We are working on that. Until they are drawn up I decided to repay so that any future activities, of me or anybody else, are in accordance with whatever the new principles are. That is my personal decision, I am not saying others should do the same.
I am well aware from the comments that quite a few of you have some very strong views about how Keir Starmer and the new Labour government have started their time in administration. And I suspect some of you would be quite interested in sharing them with our community team, who are looking to put together a piece in time for when Labour will mark 100 days in office, on 12 October. Find out more here …
By the way, there is an awful lot of comment on social media by angry politicians that the Chagos Islands agreement should have gone through parliament. All international treaties have to be ratified by parliament, so there will clearly have to be a debate about it in due course, and it is somewhat disingenuous by those in certain quarters who appear to be trying to suggest that parliament has been bypassed.
Under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, all treaties (defined as written agreements between states or between states and international organisations which are binding under international law) must be laid in each house by a minister, together with an explanatory memorandum. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also sends a copy of the treaty and the memorandum to the foreign affairs committee, and to relevant departmental select committees.
Blame game erupts over Chagos Islands deal
A couple of my colleagues have also made observations about the Chagos Islands deal. Political editor Pippa Crerar has said it is descending into a blame game for the Conservative party. She posted to social media:
Chagos Island deal has descended into huge political blame game …
There were 13 rounds of talks with Mauritius, 11 of which took place under the Tory governmentt who started process.
So far, Tom Tugendhat has blamed James Cleverly who has blamed Liz Truss who has blamed Boris Johnson, who now says agreement is “completely wrong” to do.
Labour claims they had no choice but to sign deal because of legal mess left behind.
🌏Chagos Island deal has descended into huge political blame game…
There were 13 rounds of talks with Mauritius, 11 of which took place under Tory govt who started process.
So far, Tom Tugendhat has blamed James Cleverly who has blamed Liz Truss who has blamed Boris Johnson…
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) October 4, 2024
John Crace, meanwhile, has put into words a sentiment which has been expressed by several people in the comments on the blog today too. He said:
I’d be surprised if either Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage could pinpoint were the Chagos Islands were on a map before yesterday.
I’d be surprised if either Boris Johnson or Nigel Farage could pinpoint were the Chagos Islands were on a map before yesterday
— John Crace (@JohnJCrace) October 4, 2024
If you missed it earlier in the week by the way, our former legal affairs correspondent, Owen Bowcott, who followed the story for many years for us, had this analysis piece which is well worth reading …
Scotland’s first minister has not ruled out the possibility of calling an early election if he can’t get the SNP’s budget passed.
PA Media reports that speaking on the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast, SNP leader John Swinney said:
You need 65 votes to pass a budget, we don’t have that number of votes in our party, so we’ve got to get others to vote for us. So we’ll work to create a set of propositions that will command support, but that puts as much emphasis on other political parties and what they’re prepared to support.
Since the breakdown of the Bute House Agreement earlier this year the Green party in Scotland have not been formally backing the SNP in Holyrood. Swinney said the public expect an election in 2026, and in the meantime “I think they expect politicians … to get on with taking the decision to govern.”
He said his was a message for everybody, because “there’s no hiding place for any political party. If we don’t have a budget in place on 1 April, hospitals can’t get their budgets, schools can’t get their budgets, benefits can’t be paid, all sorts of things like that.”
Former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns has called Tory leadership candidate James Cleverly “stupid” for opening up negotiations over the future of the Chagos Islands, and also suggested that the previous Conservative government had tried to keep negotiations “hush hush”.
The long-running international dispute, which involved several cases in UK and international courts going back to 2000, has led to an agreement announced yesterday which will see Mauritius gain sovereignty of the islands while the UK and US retain the use of their joint base.
Speaking to GB News, Jenkyns said:
I wasn’t even aware [of the discussions over the Chagos Islands] so I don’t know if that was kept hush hush at the time from when I was an MP. But had I known that at the time, I would have spoken out about it.
I think, how stupid of James Cleverly [to have] started those talks as well, especially if you look at the moment, what’s going on globally. These strategic locations, these allies, we need to be working together, not handing it back and leaving them open to the likes of China jumping in there. So I’d say, whether it’s James or Labour, it is a ridiculous thing to do.
In November 2022, while Jenkyns was MP for Morley and Outwood and just after she had left Boris Johnson’s government as Liz Truss became prime minister, the then-foreign secretary James Cleverly said in a written ministerial statement that the UK had agreed to open negotiations with Mauritius over the future handover of the Chagos Islands.
Cleverly issued a second ministerial written statement in March 2023 about the progress in the negotiations after three rounds had been completed. Cleverly yesterday described the outcome of the negotiations, which included a final two rounds conducted by the present Labour administration, as “weak”.
The Labour government has said the deal protects UK interests by securing the use of the military base there for 99 years, and has said the US has also welcomed it warmly.
Boris Johnson says Chagos Islands deal is ‘sheer political correctness’ and says islands are ‘a long way away’ from Mauritius
Disgraced former prime minister Boris Johnson, currently out and about promoting his memoirs, has weighed in on the Chagos Islands while speaking to Camilla Tominey on GB News.
He decried the agreement as “sheer political correctness” and “a desire to look like the good guys … a desire to look as though we’re unbundling the last relics of our empire.”
Johnson said:
It’s a bad idea in hard geopolitical terms, because the base in Diego Garcia is of huge strategic importance for the US, for the west, and it’s a key component of the Anglo-American alliance. It’s one of the things we bring to the table, has been for decades. It’s completely the wrong thing to do.
Jonathon Powell, who has been leading the negotiations for the new Labour government, has said that it secures the future of the base for the next 99 years at a time when the UK’s continued possession of its last African colony was looking increasing legally tenuous. The negotiations were started under the previous Tory government. Former prime minister Liz Truss has said it was Johnson who asked her to start the process.
Johnson also cast aspersions on why the deal had been done with Mauritius. He told viewers of GB News:
It’s crazy. I urge viewers of GB News to get out your maps, get out your atlases. Check out the Chagos islands, see where they are and see where Mauritius is. It’s a long way away.
The Chagos Islands are about 9,350km (5,800 miles) from London.
Starmer: most important thing about Chagos Islands agreement was securing future of base
Keir Starmer has defended the government’s decision over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands by saying it had been welcomed with “warm words” by the US.
Speaking at an event where he had launched investment in green technology, the prime minister said:
The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us. We’ve now secured that and that is why you saw such warm words from the US yesterday.
The move to hand sovereignty of Britain’s last African colony has been criticised by prominent figures in the Conservative party leadership race, and by MPs from Reform UK. James Cleverly decried it as “weak”, while Rupert Lowe called it a “capitulation”. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for an immediate debate when parliament sits on Monday.
Earlier on Friday Jonathan Powell, who was leading negotiations for the new government with Mauritius over the islands, also defended the deal, saying that the agreement had been reached in lockstep with the US, and the final treaty “secured all of their red lines.”
The process of negotiating with Mauritius took 13 rounds, 11 of which were held under the previous Tory administration who started the process.
Prime minister Keir Starmer, asked by the media about political donations and gifts, said “I’m not sure there’s anything I can add to the very many answers I’ve given in the last week or two,” and said that his decision to repay money for some gifts was a personal one.
He told reporters:
We’re going to draw up some principles so that everyone can see the basis on which donations can be accepted. We are working on that.
Until they are drawn up I decided to repay so that any future activities, of me or anybody else, are in accordance with whatever the new principles are.
That is my personal decision, I am not saying others should do the same.
Starmer says he is committed to a free vote on assisted dying and the government will remain neutral
During the media questions after his announcement of investment into carbon capture technology, Keir Starmer was asked about his position on assisted dying. The government is proposing to put a bill before parliament about assisted dying in England and Wales.
He didn’t elaborate on his own views, but told reports:
I made a promise to Esther Rantzen before the election that we would provide time for a debate and a vote on assisted dying, and it will be a free vote.
And obviously that opportunity has now arisen, and I’m very pleased that I’m able, as it were, to make good on the promise I made to Esther.
The government will be neutral on this, as you know, but I did make that commitment to a free vote, and I’m sticking to that commitment.
Starmer defends investment in carbon capture in face of environmental campaigners’ doubts
Asked by the Guardian’s Richard Partington whether carbon capture is an effective technology, Keir Starmer the prime minister said:
It absolutely is the right investment. It’s very important in relation to our climate obligations, and that’s why those leading the discussions in climate say this is the right thing to do.
It is a recognition that when it comes to cement, to glass, to other vital industries, there’s an element of carbon, that if we’re to support those industries going forward we need to find a way of capturing that and ensuring that through initiatives like this, we can continue with glass production, we can continue with cement production.
And therefore this has sort of got a double benefit, if you like. We’ve got the skills and the jobs and the potential to get ahead on carbon capture. That is a good thing in its own right. But secondly, it supports glass, it supports cement, it supports those industries where there’s always going to be an element of carbon.
Starmer: the new political divide between Labour and Tories is ‘investment or decline’
Keir Starmer has said the big political divide is now the choice between investment with Labour or decline with the Tories.
He said “We’ve had the decline bit for 14 years. We were elected for change, and that change is investment.”
The prime minister said:
That is the new political divide. It’s how we take our country forward, and that is why this [carbon capture investment] is so important. You don’t get investment just like talking about investment, you get investment by partnering with business, by stabilising the economy, by showing you’ve got a long term strategy, and having the ambition to take the plan forward, put the money down and invest in the future.
Starmer continued:
Anybody who’s spoken to an investor in the last five or ten years and asked what has put you off investing in Britain, you will have had the same answer as I gave repeatedly before the election. It’s the instability, it’s the chaos, it’s the ever changing minister behind the desk. There was no long term strategy.
He added
We’ve got to take difficult decisions in the budget in relation to the missing money from the last government, really tough decisions like, for example, the winter fuel payment. That is to stabilise the economy. Because I’m absolutely convinced that only by stabilising the economy.
Starmer: investment in carbon capture technology is ‘national renewal in action’
Prime minister Keir Starmer has said that today’s investment announcement shows “the politics of national renewal in action”.
He told an audience at a glass manufacturing factory “we’re fixing the foundations and providing a long term industrial strategy.”
Describing his work with families of coal miners as a lawyer when the industry was being closed down by the Conservative government of the time, Starmer said:
I worked with families and communities who were going to lose their jobs in a really important industry, and I therefore know first hand what this country lost when we ended coal in that way. Because we lost jobs, we lost communities, we lost a way of life. I think we lost dignity, and we also, I think, lost identity.
He said that is why his government is investing to create jobs as the country decarbonises. He said:
We are the first industrial nation. That’s who we are as a country. It’s our story. A source of pride that this country, our country, communities like here, changed the world. And that what is made here matters.
You can’t take that away from people without a plan to replace it. It’s like losing a part of yourself, a missing limb, an open wound, a heart ripped out of the nation.
He said the investment today was “not just a moment of industrial renewal, it’s also a line in the sand. We’re going to do things differently.”