Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has told GB News he is hopeful last-minute legal action brought against the Government’s Chagos deal will ultimately lead to it being scrapped.
Speaking on the People’s Channel, Jenrick expressed delight after it was revealed Justice Goose granted “interim relief” to two Chagossian women who had brought a case against the Foreign Office.
The High Court injunction means the Government has been temporarily banned from concluding talks on the deal.
The agreement would see the UK hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius but allow the UK and US to continue using an airbase located on the archipelago.
Robert Jenrick said 'power to the elbow' in reaction to the deal being temporarily halted
GB NEWS / PA
Jenrick said on GB News: “Let’s hope this is ultimately successful because this is an absolutely disgraceful sellout.
“Keir Starmer is looking to give away sovereign British territory to an ally of China and pay billions of pounds for the privilege.
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“Let’s hope this succeeds. All power to the elbow of the Great British PAC and the individuals who brought forward this legal challenge.”
Asked if there is something going on with the deal “under the radar”, Jenrick continued: “The only explanation I can find for this is Keir Starmer’s view of international law.
Robert Jenrick joined Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello on GB News
GB NEWS
“He thinks his reputation on the gilded circuit of lawyers and courts is more important than the interests of British people.
“This is a very bad deal. We are giving away our own territory, losing control of our territory on which there is a very important base.
“We also pay billions o pounds for decades and decades for doing so. It’s a terrible deal and it should be stopped.
“At the end of the day, he’s a human rights lawyer who always puts his interests above those of the British public.”
The Chagos IslandsFLICKR/PAThe dramatic legal intervention came as talks were reportedly nearing conclusion regarding the transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory.
The judge's order explicitly stated: "The defendant shall take no conclusive or legally binding step to conclude its negotiations concerning the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to a foreign government or bind itself as to the particular terms of any such transfer."
The injunction represents a significant obstacle to the government's ongoing negotiations about the future status of the islands.
The court will hear the case again at 10:30 on Thursday, when further arguments will be presented regarding the future of the territory.
This temporary injunction comes at a critical moment in the long-running saga over the Chagos Islands, which has been a contentious issue in British foreign policy for decades.
Until Thursday's hearing, the government must pause any plans to finalise arrangements concerning the possible transfer of the territory to another nation.
