Tories fight to 'time out' Chagos 'surrender' in Lords amid US pressure on Starmer to ditch deal - but ministers suggest they expect another Taco (Trump always chickens out) moment
Tory peers will fight to kill off Keir Starmer's Chagos 'surrender law' in the House of Lords to try to force a rethink amid growing US opposition to the deal.
They believe they have the numbers to bog down the legislation, which passes control of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, so that it does not pass before the end of the parliamentary session in May.
It comes after the Government postponed a debate on the deal in the House of Lords on Monday, following the Tories tabling an amendment that called for a pause 'in the light of the changing geopolitical circumstances'.
Their bid to halt the legislation came after Donald Trump branded the deal an 'act of great stupidity', despite previous support from the White House.
However, a senior minister today suggested that the Government believes the US president, whose critics have coined the acronym Taco (Trump Always Chickens Out) due to his frequent U-turns, will have a change of heart.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed told Times Radio that Trump's opposition was linked to a row with Nato allies over Greenland, over which he has since backed down.
'Donald Trump was saying things a week ago because he was trying to pressure some of his allies to change their position on Greenland sovereignty,' he said.
'We made it clear we're not going to do that. And now I suspect Donald Trump won't pursue that (Chagos) point.'
Peers believe they have the numbers to bog down the legislation passing control of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius so that it does not pass before the end of the parliamentary session in May
Their bid to halt the legislation came after Donald Trumpbranded the deal an 'act of great stupidity', despite previous support from the White House.
However, a senior minister today suggested that the Government believes the US president will have a change of heart
However a think tank today suggested that ministers should walk away from the yet-to-be-ratified deal, warning it would 'badly prejudice US-UK defence interests'.
Critics of the deal point to Mauritius's warm relationship with China and suggest the agreement would leave vulnerable the allied air base on Diego Garcia, which the UK and US will lease back.
A new report by the Policy Exchange think tank today warns that the treaty would see the island nation, 1,300 miles from the Chagos archipelago, 'accept payments from our adversaries and ... authorise them to enter the archipelago, occupy the outer islands and otherwise act in ways that would seriously prejudice the security of Diego Garcia.'
Professor Richard Ekins, head of Policy Exchange's Judicial Power Project, said: 'The UK Government should recognise that US-UK defence interests would be much more secure if the UK retained sovereignty and that for many other reasons – financial prudence, fairness to the Chagossians, environmental protection – handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius would be a decision to regret.'
The Chagos Bill is currently in the later stages of parliamentary scrutiny known as 'ping pong', where legislation is batted back and forth between the Commons and Lords until agreement is reached between the Houses.
A Conservative amendment calls for the Government to see that the agreement does not breach a 1966 treaty signed with America which confirms UK sovereignty of the islands.
No 10 accused accused peers of 'irresponsible' and 'reckless' behaviour and said the timing for a rescheduled Lords debate on the Chagos Bill would be set out 'in the usual way'.
No 10 refused to be drawn on whether the agreement was raised in Sir Keir's call with the US president over the weekend.
'UK and US officials are continuing to work together to ensure that the necessary arrangements are in place for the future operation of the base, as they have been for many months, and we will continue that work,' the official said.
