The new Mauritian government has ordered an independent review of the Chagos Islands agreement, The Independent understands, throwing the future of Sir Keir Starmer’s deal into even greater uncertainty.
The new administration in Mauritius, which took over after elections last month, has previously expressed doubts about the terms of the agreement, with the UK’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, travelling to the country in an attempt to smooth over any issues.
But sources in Mauritius have since said the new government feels it was “kept in the dark” over the agreement.
In a statement to the Mauritian parliament on Friday, the country’s new prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, said the details of the deal were “unknown to the new government” throughout the two years of negotiations.
As first reported in The Independent, Mr Ramgoolam announced the government would now be conducting an independent review into the terms of the agreement, the findings of which will be considered by the cabinet. The prime minister also said he has consulted external legal advisers over the deal.
It comes just one day after Downing Street said there is “no discussion around renegotiating the deal”.
“There are discussions to engage with the new administration on the detail of the deal, but as I say, there’s been an exchange of equity noting respective commitments to progressing the agreement”, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said on Thursday.
Closing his statement to parliament, the prime minister said: “I will keep the house informed of the next steps in the negotiations after cabinet will have had the opportunity to consider the outcome of the review exercise.”
Mr Ramgoolam held his first cabinet meeting on Friday morning, with the UK-Mauritius agreement understood to have been on the agenda.
Even if Mauritius does agree to stick with the agreement, the deal could be vetoed elsewhere, with president-elect Donald Trump’s team hardening their opposition to what they consider to be a major security risk for the West.
The Independent revealed this week that the Trump team has been seeking assurances that Sir Keir would not try to accelerate the deal to get it completed before his inauguration in January. Joe Biden’s outgoing administration backed the deal but following an intervention from Nigel Farage and legal advice sent by Brexiteers to Mr Trump, the incoming president has been looking for a way to veto it without embarrassing Sir Keir.
The government announced last month it had reached a political agreement to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius following negotiations which began in 2022.
The prime minister and his foreign secretary David Lammy have insisted they had no choice but to hand over the islands, including Diego Garcia where the UK and US have their major air base, because of a ruling by the International Court of Justice.
Mr Lammy has doubled down claiming that the deal is a “good one” guaranteeing the use of the airbase for the next 99 years. But the government has refused to publish details and costs of the deal.
The foreign secretary told MPs on the foreign affairs select committee that he was confident the deal would be agreed but conceded the new Mauritian government needed time to study it.
Asked about the incoming Trump administration’s opposition, he noted: “The national security agencies in the United States think this is a good deal. The State Department think this is a good deal. Most important, the Pentagon and White House think this is a good deal.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.