Lord Robathan
Main Page: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)Diego Garcia: Comments by the President of the United States
Lord Robathan Excerpts
Lord Robathan
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent comments by the President of the United States of America about Diego Garcia, and whether those comments have changed their policy view.
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Baroness Chapman of Darlington) (Lab)
My Lords, the Diego Garcia military base is essential to the security of the UK and our allies and to keeping British people safe. As we have repeatedly made clear, the agreement we have is vital for protecting our national security, guaranteeing the long-term future of a vital base for the UK and US which had been under threat. That is why the US and President Trump welcomed this deal in the spring and all our Five Eyes allies support it: they understand the security capabilities that the base provides.
Lord Robathan (Con)
My Lords, I find that a rather strange response. David Lammy said that we would listen to the United States when we made a decision, and I think I am right in saying that Donald Trump has now come out and said that this is an act of gross stupidity. This is being pursued because of Matrix lawyers who are pursuing international law above the needs of this country. Will the Minister take this back to the department and argue against going along with the decision to give Diego Garcia to Mauritius?
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
No. The noble Lord is completely wrong in his assertion about the motivation for doing this deal. This is about keeping this country and its citizens safe. That will always be the first priority of this Government. It is unedifying to see His Majesty’s Opposition take any opportunity to jump on a bandwagon led by Nigel Farage, who claimed this week that the President had a point in threatening Greenland’s sovereignty. We fundamentally disagree with that position.