MPs are angry with Foreign Secretary over his decision to give up the Crown territory of the Chagos Islands.
Lammy will update MPs on Monday in the House of Commons over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).
The International Court of Justice (ICC) ruled the UK’s administration of the BIOT is “unlawful” which must come to an end.
PA news agency reported, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said, “The Government inherited a situation where the long-term secure operation of the military base at Diego Garcia was under threat with contested sovereignty and legal challenges, including through various international courts and tribunals.
“You will be aware that the previous government initiated sovereignty negotiations in 2022 and conducted a number of rounds of negotiations.
“This Government picked up those negotiations and has reached an agreement, which means that for the first time in over 50 years, the base will be undisputed, legally secure, with full Mauritian backing.”
He was then asked does this set a precedence over Gibraltar and the Falklands, he added, “British sovereignty of the Falkland Islands or Gibraltar is not up for negotiation.”
Shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips programme, “This is definitely, from what we have seen, not the deal the last Conservative government would have done.”
He added, “We need to know about what protection there is against Chinese encroachment into the archipelago, we need to know what money is being provided by the British taxpayer. We need to probe the terms of the lease.”
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