James Cleverly has hit out at Sir Keir Starmer for handing the Chagos Islands to Mauritius – despite being the one who kicked off negotiations when he was foreign secretary.
The Tory leadership candidate, who has enjoyed a boost in popularity over the course of the Conservative Party Conference, hit out at Labour’s decision to relinquish control over the Indian Ocean atolls.
Posting on social media, he said:
“Weak, weak, weak!
“Labour lied to get into office.
“Said they’d be whiter than white, said they wouldn’t put up taxes, said they’d stand up to the EU, said that they be patriotic.
“All lies!”
But he was quickly reminded that he was the one who kicked off negotiations over the deal, even by members of his own party!
A senior Tory source said: “This was Cleverly’s Chagos deal! David Lammy just got it over the line.”
In November 2022, when he was serving as foreign secretary, Cleverly was responsible for the opening of talks on the sovereignty of the archipelago.
After a meeting with the Mauritian PM, he told the Commons: “The UK and Mauritius have decided to begin negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)/Chagos archipelago.
“The UK and Mauritius have agreed to engage in constructive negotiations, with a view to arriving at an agreement by early next year.”
Mr Cleverly’s chief leadership rival on the moderate side of the party, Tom Tugendhat said it was disgraceful that negotiations about the future of the Chagos Islands began under the Conservatives, in an attack on the former foreign secretary.
“Lord Cameron rightly blocked them only to see it back under David Lammy’s complete failure of leadership,” he said, adding that the decision was “shameful”.
Lammy said the government had “inherited a situation where the long-term, secure operation of the Diego Garcia military base was under threat”.
He added: “Today’s agreement secures this vital military base for the future.
“Our deal, supported by our US partners, will protect international security, close a potential illegal migration route, and avert threats to peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean.”
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