Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomes gov’t ‘humiliating U-turn’ on Chagos deal

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has described the UK government’s decision to halt the Chagos Islands sovereignty transfer deal as “yet another humiliating U-turn”, arguing the proposal “should never have been on the table”.

She said the plan to “pay £35bn to give away territory we already own” reflected a lack of “strategic direction”, and welcomed the decision to drop the legislation, claiming the Conservatives had “fought every step of the way” to oppose it.

In recent days the UK government withdrew legislation to ratify its agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after the bill failed to progress before the end of the parliamentary session following US refusal to support key treaty changes.

The proposed agreement would have transferred sovereignty while allowing the UK to lease Diego Garcia for 99 years. The International Court of Justice (2019) advisory opinion stated the UK should end its administration of the territory.

ℹ️ ITN