UK 'faces billion-pound compo bill' if PM ditches Chagos 'surrender'

Britain could be hit with a compensation bill of billions of pounds if it pulls out of Sir Keir Starmer's Chagos 'surrender deal', officials fear.Concerns have been raised that Mauritius could sue if Sir Keir ditches the plan to hand over the British Indian Ocean Territory.The government is expected to pay up to £35billion over the course of the next century to rent back the strategically important airbase on Diego Garcia.But the deal agreed with Mauritius was very front-loaded, with prime minister Navin Ramgoolam wanting to use the windfall from UK taxpayers to solve his country's financial problems. Last year he unveiled plans to use almost £500million from the payments to help clear its national debt, which is currently equal to more than 80 per cent of its GDPThis will allow the east African country to abolish income tax entirely for 81 per cent of employed Mauritians and raise minimum salaries.But last week the move to get the bill approving the treaty through Parliament was halted after Donald Trump's latest erratic outburst saw him criticise the handover.If the president's wrath forces a UK U-turn, the loss of this money could lead Mauritius to launch its latest legal case against the UK, with fears of a massive compensation bill, the Telegraph reported. Earlier this week, Mr Trump urged Sir Keir Starmer not to 'give away Diego Garcia' – an island on the archipelago which is home to a joint UK-US military base – despite Washington signalling its official backing for the deal on Tuesday. The government is expected to pay up to £35billion over the course of the next century to rent back the strategically important airbase on Diego Garcia. But the deal agreed with Mauritius was very front-loaded, with prime minister Navin Ramgoolam wanting to use the windfall from UK taxpayers to solve his country's financial problems. If Donald Trump's latest turn against the deal forces a UK U-turn, the loss of this money could lead Mauritius to launch its latest legal case against the UK, with fears of a massive compensation bill, the Telegraph reported.The Times has reported that Mr Trump's latest U-turn on his previous support for the agreement is because of Britain's refusal to give the White House the green light to use the base or RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire for a potential military campaign against Iran.The Government's position is said to be due to concerns over a breach of international law, which does not distinguish between a nation carrying out an attack and one that provides support with 'knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act'.That message was reiterated by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper at the weekend when she met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, DC. She told her counterpart that Britain favoured ‘diplomatic and economic pressure’ on Iran.With Tehran saying it will have a nuclear deal draft ready in a few days, former top brass last night joined the Conservative Party in criticising the Government’s view after Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge said Iran’s nuclear programme ‘poses a grave threat to Britain and our allies’.Senior military figures have urged Sir Keir Starmer to put national security first and let Donald Trump use British bases for an attack on Iran. Share or comment on this article: Britain 'faces paying billions of pounds in compensation to Mauritius' if Trump's opposition forces Starmer to abandon Chagos 'surrender' deal

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