Oral Answers to Questions

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Peter Bedford (Mid Leicestershire) (Con)]

15. When he plans to present to Parliament the proposed treaty with Mauritius on the sovereignty of the Chagos islands.

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

19. When he plans to present to Parliament the proposed treaty with Mauritius on the sovereignty of the Chagos islands.

[The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)]

As we and Mauritius have repeatedly said, including in joint statements on 20 December and 13 January, both sides remain committed to concluding a deal on the future of the Chagos archipelago that protects the long-term effective operation of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia. Once the treaty is signed, it will be put to Parliament for scrutiny before ratification in the usual way.

[Stephen Doughty]

I have answered those questions on a number of occasions, including earlier. I have been very clear that a financial element is crucial to protect the operation of such a vital base for our security and for the security of our allies. Once the treaty is signed, it will be put before the Houses for scrutiny before ratification in the usual way, and that will include costs. We will not scrimp on security: protecting our interests and those of our allies is the most important thing.

[Dr Spencer]

Politics is about choices, and the speculation about how much the Government want to hand over to Mauritius starts at £9 billion. That money would go a long way as official development assistance, so does the Minister regret that choice?

[Stephen Doughty]

As I have said, a financial element—let us remember that this is over 99 years—was crucial to protect the operation of the base. If we do not pay for our security, somebody else might attempt to get in there. That is one crucial reason we have worked closely with Mauritius, the United States and other allies and partners, including India, to protect our base on Diego Garcia.