Donald Trump has signed off on Labour’s plan to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The US president’s decision is a major blow for the Tories, and shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick in particular.
The shadow justice secretary produced a seven-minute video condemning the proposal, in which UK will pay Mauritius £9 billion over the next 99 years so the UK-US military base at Diego Garcia will continue to operate as it does at the moment.
Warning the deal could be a national security threat to Britain, Jenrick said: “A 99 year lease is a house built on sand. Mauritius is close to China. Mauritius is indebted to China.
“There are 47 different official Chinese development projects in Mauritius already.”
Kemi Badenoch’s spokesman also urged Trump to intervene to block the handover.
But after saying in February that he was “inclined to go along with” the deal, it has now emerged that Trump has officially approved it.
Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said: “I mean, you will have seen from the president that he recognised the strength of the deal.
“I think we are now working with the Mauritian government to finalise the deal and sign the treaty. My understanding is it’s now between us and the Mauritian government to finalise the deal following the discussions with the US.”
Former president Joe Biden backed the deal – but Trump was thought to be opposed to it on national security grounds.
The UK had tried to get it over the line before Trump re-entered the White House in January, but eventually had to admit defeat.
Trump’s decision will disappoint some in the Republican Party.
John Kennedy, a Republican senator for Louisiana, previously urged Starmer to “put down the bong” and ditch the deal.
He said: “Because the United Nations wants the United Kingdom to feel guilty, they want to give our military base and their military base to Mauritius.
“Now, the prime minister of the United Kingdom can stop this, and Marco Rubio, our new Secretary of State, is against it. And I haven’t talked to him directly, but I think President Trump is against it.
“The United Kingdom is our friend. I went to school there for a while. I love them and I want to see the prime minister do well, but he needs to put down the bong. He needs to put down the bong.
“This makes absolutely no sense, and it’s going to be a big part of his legacy if he gives away this island and our military base to, in effect, what will eventually be China.”
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