British Indian Ocean Territory Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Jack Rankin
Main Page: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)Department Debates - View all Jack Rankin's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
British Indian Ocean Territory
Jack Rankin Excerpts(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
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Jack Rankin (Windsor) (Con)
Surrendering sovereign territory based on a non-binding legal judgment and forking out taxpayer money for the privilege—what kind of deal is that? It is one done behind closed doors, evading the scrutiny of this House. Does the Minister agree that this deal is a prime example of what happens when we have a Government of lawyers, for lawyers, rather than a Government for the British people?
Stephen Doughty
I simply reject the premise of the hon. Member’s question. The Government inherited a situation where the effective operation of the base was under threat. Claims that we negotiated this deal simply because of the 2019 International Court of Justice advisory opinion are wrong. That is not the only challenge that we faced, as the previous Government knew. Without a deal, Mauritius would have inevitably pursued a legally binding judgment, and there would be huge implications from that. Not having a deal would affect the real-world operational functionality of the base, which is so crucial to our national security and that of our allies.