Sir Keir Starmer has signed a £10billion deal to hand over the Chagos Islands, bringing an end to months of fury and speculation over the future of the archipelago.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the Prime Minister confirmed the UK had agreed a deal with Mauritius on the future of the Diego Garcia base and claimed the staggering cost was "part and parcel of Britain's global reach".
"The US and France do the same with their military bases," Starmer said.
The Government says the cost per year of the deal - commonly decried as a "surrender" by critics - is 99 years long and costs British taxpayers £101million every year.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK had agreed a deal with Mauritius on the future of the Diego Garcia base
PA
That totals around £10billion but the "net present value" of payments under the treaty is £3.4billion after future inflation is considered.
"The average of £100million per year is about the same, or slightly less than, the running cost of an aircraft carrier, minus the aircraft," Starmer told reporters.
"Now, given the significance of this facility, both the geography and the capability, you can see that as, again, measured against an aircraft carrier running costs, that this is very good value for money."
The UK's Five Eyes partners - the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - back the agreement, along with India, Defence Secretary John Healey added.
While the Prime Minister, during the conference, blasted Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage for being in the same "column" as Russia and China for opposing the deal.
KEIR STARMER'S CHAGOS SURRENDER GOES AHEAD - AS IT HAPPENED:
- Chagos Islands deal 'to be signed with Mauritius THIS WEEK' despite fears of a backlash
- Keir Starmer's Chagos surrender thwarted at the last second as injunction granted BANNING Labour from handing over islands to Mauritius
- Chagos deal given GREEN LIGHT as Keir Starmer can hand over islands to Mauritius after judge throws out injunction
The UK's Five Eyes partners - the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand - back the agreement, the Defence Secretary said
GETTYIn a Ministry of Defence statement this afternoon, Labour laid out its legal position on the giveaway, which said that if Britain failed to hand over the islands, it "would not have a realistic prospect of successfully defending its legal position on sovereignty".
Without handing the archipelago over, the UK would be unable to "ensure access to the Base by air and by sea, effectively to patrol the maritime area around the Base, and to support the Base’s critical national security functions", the statement added.
The base is "vital to UK and US power projection in the Indian Ocean and beyond", it continued.
At Thursday's conference, senior British Army officer General Sir James Hockenhull labelled it a "priceless asset and essential element of our firepower".
Starmer also slapped down a last-minute legal challenge to the "surrender" - and said he welcomed it, as it meant the courts could consider both sides of the argument.
Starmer's international law claims prompted the fury of Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge
PAThe PM - a lawyer by trade - also vowed: "This is not just about international law, it's about the operation of the base. Even if we choose to ignore judgments made against us, international organisations and other countries would act on them and that would undermine the operation of the base, causing us to lose this unique capability.
"One example of this is the electromagnetic spectrum. Countries have the right to manage this spectrum as they wish within their borders, a right that’s recognised in regulations and overseen in the International Telecommunication Union.
"The use of the spectrum is key to understand and anticipate those who seek to do us harm. If our right to control it is put into doubt, we would lose the first line of defence against other countries who wish to interfere and disrupt this capability, rendering it practically useless.
"In addition, if we did not agree this deal the legal situation would mean that we would not be able to prevent China or any other nation setting up their own bases on the outer islands or carrying out joint exercises near our base, we would have to explain to you, the British people and to our allies, that we’d lost control of this vital asset.
"No responsible Government could let that happen. So, there's no alternative but to act in Britain’s national interest."
That prompted the fury of Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge, who said: "The PM has just confirmed that his Chagos deal has been based entirely on hypothetical legal action - which hasn't happened and which we could surely challenge.
"Surrendering sovereignty is absolute; the legal risk is about possibilities that may or may not transpire."
