The Tories are calling for the money to be diverted to boost the Royal Navy.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to abandon his “disgraceful” Chagos deal and redirect the money to boost the Royal Navy. Around £670 million has been earmarked for the controversial plan to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, which has been paused amid US opposition.
But the Conservatives called for £400 million of the funding to instead be used to speed up the delivery of new warships. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said: “National security is the number one priority of any Government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch (Image: Getty)
“Yet, whether it’s making a man with links to Russia, China and the world’s most notorious paedophile our Ambassador in Washington, failing to properly fund our armed forces, or giving away British territory in the Chagos Islands, Keir Starmer continually puts our national security at risk.
“The Conservatives are calling on Labour to ditch their disgraceful Chagos surrender plan, and use the money now to fund the rapid delivery of the new naval ships we need to safeguard our country.”
The Iran conflict has sparked fresh concerns over the state of Britain’s armed forces after it took weeks to send a warship to protect an RAF base in Cyprus that was hit by a drone, while the defence investment plan setting out military funding over the next decade has been delayed.
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartldige said: “Instead of spending money to cede sovereignty, Labour should be investing in our Armed Forces.
“Ongoing conflict in the Middle East has exposed serious weaknesses in our Navy which is only getting worse as the Government continues to delay the critical defence investment plan.
“That is why the Conservatives have a plan to redirect the funds earmarked for the Chagos handover into accelerating the construction of new frigates for the Royal Navy, the 13 ships we ordered in government.
“We are the only party that is willing to take the tough decisions needed to properly fund defence by increasing defence spending to 3% this Parliament.”
The Chagos deal struck last year would see the UK hand the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, but pay to lease back the Diego Garcia joint military base with the US.
The Government has argued the move is necessary to guarantee the future of Diego Garcia after an international court ruling in 2019 backed Mauritian claims to sovereignty of the archipelago.
But critics warn the cost of the pact could amount to an eye-watering £35 billion, that it risks the military base and could allow China to establish a presence on the archipelago.
The Bill enacting the deal has run out of parliamentary time ahead of next month’s King’s speech after it was paused following criticism from the US President, who branded it an “act of great stupidity”.