UK politics live: Keir Starmer defends Chagos Islands return as Argentina demands Falklands back
Keir Starmer says under the Chagos Islands deal the US-UK Diego Garcia base is secure
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
A row has erupted after Sir Keir Starmer’s government announced the handover in exchange for a 99-year lease on a key military base.
Argentina seized on the decision, vowing to secure “full sovereignty” over the Falklands, with foreign minister Diana Mondino hailing the Chagos deal a victory and promising to take “concrete action” on the disputed territory next.
The geopolitical fallout followed the prime minister to Cheshire, where Labour ministers pledged nearly £22 billion to develop carbon capture projects in Merseyside and Teesside.
During a speech today at a glassmaking factory, the PM defended the decision to return the territory to Mauritius claiming that the move ensures continued security of the key military base.
Sir Keir promised workers that the new investment would create thousands of jobs and attract private investment while helping the UK meet its net zero targets.
He described today’s investment announcement as a demonstration of “the politics of renewal in action” and declared the new political divide between Labour and the Tories is ‘investment or decline’.
Diego Garcia blame game deepens as Liz Truss hits out at Boris Johnson for island ‘surrender’
Boris Johnson’s Unleashed: A memoir that’s twisted, sour and full of yet more lies
Boris Johnson claims bugging device found in his bathroom after Netanyahu visit
Argentina says it will take ‘full sovereignty’ of Falklands after Chagos Islands return
Osborne urges Reeves to deliver a ‘relaunch Budget’
Rachel Reeves needs to deliver a “relaunch Budget” following the freebies row that hit the Labour government, George Osborne has said.
The former chancellor told his Political Currency podcast: “This Budget was supposed to be the five-year plan for the Starmer government and some tough decisions early on that would reap benefits later, politically and economically.
“The truth is, it’s becoming increasingly a relaunch Budget. The government is in such trouble politically, because of all the things we’ve been talking about.
“There’s a poll out this week that says [the government] is now more unpopular with the British people than the Sunak government it replaced. So this Budget now can’t just be about the long term. It’s got to be about the short term. It’s got to be about getting the government back on track.”
Pictured: New leader of Scottish Conservatives Russell Findlay makes debut
Bill to give ‘choice at end of life’ to be introduced to Parliament this month
Proposals to change the law to give terminally ill people “choice at the end of life” are to be introduced in parliament this month.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said she hoped for “honest, compassionate and respectful debate” when her Bill, which will be tabled on 16 October, is considered in the Commons.
The conversation around legalising assisted dying has been increasingly in the spotlight for the past year, with high-profile figures including broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen calling for a parliamentary debate and vote on change.
Dame Esther said she is “thrilled and grateful” at the news, which she said could mean “terminally ill people like me can look forward with hope and confidence that we could have a good death”.
She said: “I never thought I might live to see the current cruel law change.
“But even if it is too late for me, I know thousands of terminally ill patients and their families will be given new hope.
“All we ask is to be given the choice over our own lives.”
Ms Leadbeater said her private member’s bill (PMB) would establish in law the right for terminally ill eligible adults to have choice at the end of life to shorten their deaths and ensure stronger protections for them and their loved ones in the aftermath.
She said: “Parliament should now be able to consider a change in the law that would offer reassurance and relief – and most importantly, dignity and choice – to people in the last months of their lives.”
Pictured: First copies of Boris Johnson’s book ‘Unleashed’
Row erupts over Chagos Islands as Tories accused of risking loss of key air base in courts
A furious row has erupted over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to hand hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, securing the future of a secretive military base in the Pacific Ocean.
Rivals battling it out for the Tory leadership accused the prime minister of weakness and said the decision would leave the UK’s allies exposed.
Our political correspondent has the full story below:
Row erupts over Chagos Islands as Tories accused of risking loss of key air base
UK announced decision to hand archipeligo back to Mauritius in deal to secure secretive Diego Garcia base
Boris regrets not sacking ‘weird’ Cummings over Barnard Castle debacle
Boris Johnson has branded his former chief of staff Dominic Cummings as “weird” and compared him to a “homicidal robot” as he blamed him for his downfall as prime minister.
In his new autobiography Unleashed, the Mr Johnson charted the collapse of his relationship with Cummings from the high point of them working to win the EU referendum in 2016.
But he has alleged that Cummings lack of gratitude for his efforts to defend him over potentially breaking lockdown rules with an infamous trip to Barnard Castle in 2020 led to the former chief of staff using Partygate as a form of revenge.
Our political correspondent David Maddox has the full story below:
Boris regrets not sacking ‘homicidal robot’ Cummings over Barnard Castle debacle
Boris Johnson had a blazing row with one of his closest former advisers over not sacking Cummings over alleged lockdown breaches and claims after that things got ‘weirder’
Labour MP criticises ‘disappointing’ Chagos Islands decision
Suella Braverman joins Tories in slamming Chagos Islands deal
Chagossians ‘deplore’ UK-Mauritius deal for being excluded from negotiations
Chagos islanders have criticised Labour’s deal to return most territory of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, ending a long-standing dispute.
They have slammed the governments for being “excluded” from the negotiating table during the deal.
In a statement, Chagossian Voices said: “[We] deplore the exclusion of the Chagossian community from the negotiations which have produced this statement of intent concerning the sovereignty of our homeland.
“Chagossians have learned this outcome from the media and remain powerless and voiceless in determining our own future and the future of our homeland.
“The views of Chagossians, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands, have been consistently and deliberately ignored and we demand full inclusion in the drafting of the treaty.”
Britain treated Chagossians ‘shamefully’, says envoy
The envoy behind the Chagos Islands-Mauritius deal has said Chagossians were treated “shamefully” when they were removed from the islands in the 1960s.
Jonathan Powell told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “What we did in the 60s, what Britain did, was wrong. We treated them shamefully.
“And that’s why previous governments have given them British nationality, British citizenship, and so on.
“So we setting up a fund that will be administered by the Mauritian government because this is now Mauritian territory, so we can’t say who goes back.”
But under the deal, Chagossians are not able to return to Diego Garcia, the UK-US military base in the Pacific Ocean.
He added: “Many of Chagossians are either Mauritian citizens or have the right to Mauritian citizenship.
“Going back to the islands … it’s going to be difficult. They’re very remote and very hard to live on, and the life there before was very difficult.
“But yes, we are committing ourselves to help on visits, and we’re committing to a fund to help on resettlement if that’s possible.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments