Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the US Government will be charged for use of the military base on Diego Garcia under the terms of the draft UK-Mauritius Treaty.

The UK does not charge the US Government for the use of the military base on Diego Garcia and does not intend to do so. The US pays for the significant operating and maintenance costs of the base and the UK benefits considerably from this arrangement.