Chagos Islands negotiations may see the UK hand over more than the rumoured £9billion as Mauritius reportedly demands a larger sum. In a last-minute attempt to score a better deal from the UK, sources close to discussions alleged the East African country will be going after more money in lease payments and for development funding.
After US president Donald Trump signed off on Britain handing over the islands, negotiations have reached their final stages. Despite reports of £9billion being agreed for the lease of the Diego Garcia military base back to the UK, Mauritius is now seemingly going after a higher amount. The two nations have also failed to agree on how much of the lease will be paid up front.
Three new suggestions to bring forward the payments have been made by British negotiators, it is claimed, all of which would mean paying more than 99 years’ worth of rent for the islands in advance.
Mauritius has reportedly rejected two of the proposals, instead pushing for a higher amount.
A Mauritian insider close to the discussions told The Telegraph: “We won’t sign the deal without getting clarity on the amount of money front-loaded.
“We were provided three options for the payment of the financial package. We didn’t even consider the first two options after consulting our legal experts. We are discussing the third option.”
The details of the remaining option on the table remain unknown.
After a draft deal was agreed with the previous Mauritian government last year, Navin Ramgoolam, the new Mauritian prime minister, reopened negotiations which saw the UK agree to bring forward payments.
The total cost of the deal to the UK is yet to be confirmed by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, but it is reported to be £9billion. Various claims of the figure being closer to £18billion have been labelled as “inaccurate” by a Labour minister.
The final deal will be presented to Parliament, and the real cost to the taxpayer will be unveiled for the first time.
