Sir Keir Starmer’s £35billion Chagos deal faces a “relentless” challenge after a top Tory told GB News she intends to put the “nail in the coffin” of the Prime Minister’s handover of the Indian Ocean archipelago.Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel is jetting off to Washington tomorrow to meet with senior officials in Donald Trump’s administration.Dame Priti’s trip comes after concerted efforts by Tory veteran Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to encourage the White House to move against the Prime Minister’s deal.The Witham MP, who is also scheduled to discuss the significance of the special relationship at the Hudson Institute next Wednesday, made clear to GB News that she will “keep fighting against the deal until it is scrapped once and for all”.
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Speaking to The People’s Channel ahead of her trip stateside, Dame Priti said: “At this crucial moment for the future of the Chagos Islands, I will be raising the matter with senior officials from the administration and other prominent politicians in the US and making clear how disastrous Keir Starmer’s surrender will be.“The decision to hand over British sovereign territory and £35billion of taxpayers’ money to an ally of China is appalling and it will undermine not just our national security but that of our allies too, most principally the United States.“The Conservatives have led the charge against the Chagos Surrender and I will be pushing relentlessly against it when I am in Washington.“I want to put the nail in the coffin. This deal cannot go ahead without US support. President Trump was right to intervene against it and we will keep fighting it until it is scrapped once and for all.”Despite Mauritius never previously holding the Chagos Islands, the Prime Minister agreed to part with the archipelago in return for an initial 99-year lease of the Anglo-American military base Diego Garcia.The US President had initially given his blessing for Sir Keir to push ahead with the handover of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius.During a meeting with Sir Keir in February 2025, the 47th US President indicated he was “inclined to go along” with the deal.Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, confirmed Mr Trump had “welcomed the historic agreement” just a few months later.LATEST DEVELOPMENTSChagossian leader calls on Keir Starmer to ‘resign’ over Chagos ‘failure’ – ‘He has to go!’PM ‘must go if Chagos deal destroys alliance with Donald Trump’s America’, Nigel Farage saysKeir Starmer accused of ‘misleading’ Chagos deal as judge moves to block removal of ChagossiansHowever, rifts between London and Washington on the potential annexation of Greenland and US use of British military bases to launch strikes on Iran appear to have caused a change in heart.Just days after Mr Trump claimed Sir Keir’s deal was the “best he could make”, the US President raged: “I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is ‘claiming’ Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia.“Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known before.“In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature. Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime.”The US President concluded his U-turn by warning Sir Keir to “remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems”.It has since emerged that Sir Keir rejected Mr Trump’s request to use RAF Fairford for a potential bombing raid of Iran, sparking concerns about the pair losing their professional relationship.However, Dame Priti also warned Sir Keir’s stance on China risks alienating key figures inside Mr Trump’s White House.“Keir Starmer’s weakness and his desire to appease China are undermining our most important alliance and I want our American friends to know how worried we are about that,” the Shadow Foreign Secretary said.“Keir Starmer kowtows to China at every opportunity. Whether it’s the Chagos surrender, the Chinese spy-hub super embassy in London, or his begging-bowl surrender tour to Beijing, the PM has repeatedly cosied up to Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party regime.“China poses a serious threat to our national security. Allies like the US know that and are taking measures to minimise the threat, yet this Labour Government is going in the opposite direction, even collapsing the case against two alleged Chinese spies operating at the heart of our democracy.“Their approach is undermining the Trans-Atlantic relationship and putting our safety at risk.”Dame Priti’s warning about the special relationship comes just weeks after a top ally of Mr Trump suggested Sir Keir needs to “meet the President halfway” to maintain a strong alliance with the US.Pastor Mark Burns told GB News: “I see this less as a breakdown of the special relationship and more as a realignment around truth and national interest.”However, Dame Priti also pointed out how significant members of the Tory Party have been at “relentlessly” encouraging the White House to change course.She said: “Whatever the internal discussions have been in the US administration, we have been relentlessly making the case to our American allies that this appalling surrender will be disastrous for the interests of both of our countries.“Prominent Conservatives have been making that point directly to administration officials, ramping up in recent weeks, and we will continue to do so.“Starmer’s refusal to allow the Americans to use the Diego Garcia base for potential strikes on Iran has been another timely reminder of how Keir Starmer is turning us into a less reliable ally and undermining our relationship with the US.”Sir Iain, who led the Tory Party between 2001 and 2003, last week visited top Republicans to thrash out his reservations about the Chagos handover.The Chingford & Wood Green MP was lauded by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch after meeting officials from the Department of War, State Department, National Security Council and the White House.Speaking to GB News, Sir Iain said: “I tried to explain to them that the Government has not told them the whole truth about this terrible arrangement.“They keep on saying, they’re going to get all sorts of legal attacks on them if they don’t do this. It’s utter, ridiculous, fairytale nonsense.”Meanwhile, former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have also been lobbying Mr Trump to take a tougher stance on Sir Keir’s Chagos deal.However, Mr Farage previously received plaudits for his efforts to talk Mr Trump round on the Indian Ocean archipelago.The Reform UK leader revealed his discussions with House Speaker Mike Johnson had also proved pivotal in turning the tide against Sir Keir’s Chagos deal.“I can’t say, ‘game, set, match, GB News’, but I can say we have been very influential in what we have heard from the US President about this surrender overnight,” Mr Farage said.“You know what? As a channel, we should be proud of ourselves for playing a part in this.”Despite pressure mounting on Sir Keir to perform his 16th U-turn, the Prime Minister is expected to push ahead with his £35billion handover deal.Sir Keir, who last month vowed not to “yield” to US pressure, insists the Chagos handover deal is essential.“Without legal certainty, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should,” the Prime Minister previously told MPs.“That is bad for our national security and it’s a gift for our adversaries.”However, Sir Keir is facing an immediate challenge after four Chagossians set sail to the archipelago to create a settlement.The Labour Government demanded the group leave the Chagos Islands, including the de facto First Minister Misley Mandarin.Justice James Lewis triggered a delay to their removal after an injunction temporarily blocked the removal for at least seven days on Friday morning.The Chagos Islands, which are officially known as the British Indian Ocean territory, are located 5,799 miles away from the UK and 1,250 miles away from Mauritius.The archipelago has been under British control since 1814 after the UK purchased the islands from France for £3million.Around 2,000 inhabitants were forcibly removed from the Chagos Islands in the late 1960s after the UK invited the US to build a military base on Diego Garcia.Some of the Chagossians settled in Mauritius and the Seychelles, while others ended up in the UK, mostly in Crawley.
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