Senior Conservatives in the House of Lords are said to be plotting to back Donald Trump in attempting to stop Labour from handing over the British territory of the Chagos Islands, it has been claimed.
Under current plans the islands in the Indian Ocean, which host a vital US airbase, are due to transition to ownership of Mauritius in response to years of pressure for the archipelago to be “returned” to its people.
But according to the Telegraph, Donald Trump’s administration are worried by losing the Chagos Islands the UK could be allowing China more power in the region and threaten the existence of the American military base.
The newspaper claims a group of peers in the House of Lords, led by the former Foreign Office minister Lord Bellingham, are planning to try and force the Government to hold a referendum of Chagossians in the UK before any deal can go ahead.
Around 1,500 islanders live in Britain after they were forcibly removed by the British Government between 1967 and 1973 to allow for the construction of the US-UK Diego Garcia air base.
The Government announced its decision to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius last month, which they have argued “saved” a UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
The agreement over the continued military presence on Diego Garcia is expected to run for 99 years with an option to renew, with Britain paying a regular annual sum of money.
Under the plans understood to be forming in the Lords, a referendum would need to consult around 3,500 Chagossians now living in the UK. By seeking a referendum it’s thought it would delay any handover enough for Mr Trump taking office on January 20 next year.
Lord Bellingham told the Telegraph: “The only way actually to ensure that there has been a proper consultation is if there’s a referendum.
“It’s going to be impossible to track them down, but something like 50,000 graduates of Oxford are going to be voting on the new chancellor, and they’re spread around every corner of the globe, so it should be possible to track down Chagossians and at least advertise it.
“It’s going to be very difficult to override the Lords on this and then it’ll delay things, and I think Mr Trump will then have his say, I’m reasonably optimistic that we can turn the table on this.”
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “As part of this agreement, for the first time, Mauritius will be free to implement a programme of resettlement on the islands other than Diego Garcia, and we will finance a new trust fund for Mauritius in support of Chagossians.
“We will also work together with Mauritius to restart visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.
“We regularly engage with members of the Chagossian community on a range of issues and will continue to do so.”
