Legislation aimed at ceding the Chagos Islands to Mauritius will not be passed before the upcoming King’s Speech, a minister has confirmed, leaving open the possibility of further efforts in the next parliamentary session.
Stephen Doughty stated on Monday that the plan, which involves relinquishing sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) while retaining control of a military base on Diego Garcia, has faced delays due to opposition from the United States.
Downing Street had previously indicated that transferring sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius was "the best way to protect a vital" military base situated on Diego Garcia.
However, the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson refrained from committing to reintroducing the legislation to finalise this process in the next session, scheduled to commence on 13 May.
An agreement between the UK and Mauritius was signed in May of last year, and the Bill to conclude London’s control over the islands has since undergone debate in both Houses of Parliament. A final draft of this session’s Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill has yet to secure agreement from both the Commons and the Lords.
Mr Doughty told the Commons: “It’s regrettable to us that obviously there has been a delay, we’ve run out of time in this parliamentary session.
“But the facts have not changed in the need for this treaty or indeed the need for the different processes and legal provisions to be brought in place.”
The Foreign Office minister said the UK and US needed to update a 1966 agreement, known as the Exchange of Notes, to allow for continued joint operation of the military base.
He said Washington had originally accepted the agreement with Mauritius, and added it was “negotiated in close co-ordination with the United States under both this and the previous United States administrations”.
The document was “tested thoroughly at all levels of the United States system under two administrations and found to be robust”, Mr Doughty said.
He continued: “In recent weeks, the position of the United States president (Donald Trump) appears to have changed.
“And this means that, in practical terms, it has become impossible to agree at political level an update to the 1966 UK-US agreement concerning the Availability for Defence Purposes of the British Indian Ocean Territory, known as the Exchange of Notes.”
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel asked Mr Doughty to confirm the Government would not attempt to push its deal in the face of Mr Trump’s opposition.
She asked: “Will he rule out any new legislation coming forward next session, even if it isn’t in the King’s Speech, so that the surrender treaty cannot become operable?”
Mr Doughty said it was the Opposition which “started this process” but did not directly say whether a fresh Bill would emerge.
Asked earlier whether the Government would reintroduce the Bill, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “I’m not going to get ahead of or speculate on what is in the King’s speech, and any legislation will be announced in the usual way.”
Parliament has already agreed to “carry over” five Bills from the current session, meaning debate on them can continue after May 13, but the Chagos Bill is not among them.
The spokesman added that UK officials would “now discuss next steps with the US and the Mauritians”.
Under the terms of the deal agreed last year, Britain will hand sovereignty over the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius but lease back the Diego Garcia base for 99 years.
The deal will also see the UK pay an average of £101 million a year to Mauritius over that period, totalling about £3.4 billion according to official figures.
But opponents of the deal have said the real cost could amount to about £35 billion, adjusting for inflation, and said it puts the base at risk and could open the door to China establishing a presence on the archipelago.
Although the agreement has been signed by both the UK and Mauritius, it has not yet been ratified and no payments have been made.
Asked by Conservative former minister Dame Harriett Baldwin whether the UK would make payments to Mauritius during the delay period, Mr Doughty said: “I can confirm that in relation to the costs associated with this treaty, they cannot be paid without the treaty being passed, without the relevant legislation being passed.”
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