THE FUSE

The UK government said it "remains confident" a deal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is the "best way forward", despite criticism from US President Donald Trump.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty defended the agreement as he accused Conservative peers of using "parliamentary stunts" to try to "sabotage" legislation designed to confirm the treaty in UK law.

The government postponed Monday's House of Lords debate on the bill after Tory peers tabled an amendment calling for a pause "in light of the changing geopolitical circumstances".

Conservative shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said the delay showed "Labour's Chagos surrender humiliation continues".

Under the terms of the deal, the UK would give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and pay to lease back the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.

Questions over the future of the treaty emerged last week after Trump described the agreement as a "great act of stupidity", despite his administration having previously been content with the terms.

The bill to enact the treaty is currently at the stage of the parliamentary tussle known as "ping-pong", which sees legislation move between the Commons and Lords until agreement on its wording is reached.

Ahead of the latest round, the Conservatives claimed that passing the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill would put the UK in contravention of a 1966 treaty agreed with the US over the islands.

The opposition has called on the government to ensure agreement is reached with the US over the 1966 treaty before the bill returns to the Lords.

Doughty, responding to an urgent question tabled by the Conservatives in the House of Commons, said the next stage of the bill had been delayed by the opposition tabling a "wrecking amendment" which is "toying with our national security".

He said: "The government is committed to the deal which protects the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia.

"Some have sought to sabotage the process through procedural motions and parliamentary stunts.

"We are instead focused on delivering this bill to protect our national security."

For the Conservatives, Dame Priti accused the government of hoping to "force through" the bill in the Lords.

She said: "In their rush to appease the wishes of their left-wing lawyer friends, Labour overlooked this very 1966 treaty between the UK and the US, which states that the British Indian Ocean Territory shall remain under the United Kingdom's sovereignty."

Dame Priti asked for details on discussions between the UK and US in recent days on the deal.

She said: "It's time Labour saw sense and scrapped this treaty and stood up for Britain."

Doughty said the government had been "clear" throughout about the need to update the 1966 agreement between the UK and US before the new treaty can be ratified.

He added the UK is "engaged with the United States on a daily basis on matters relating to our national security".

'Against instincts'

Labour MP Dan Carden said he has "gone along with the government to this point" but noted it has been "against my instincts" and he "cannot understand what exactly we are doing here".

Carden told the chamber: "International agreements do not protect us against our enemies, or our allies, sovereignty does.

"I genuinely think the people we represent will be asking, 'why can the prime minister not step forward, assert sovereignty over these islands, and make clear that we have the military defence to defend them?'"

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller urged the government to accept his party's amendment seeking a "pause while the US position is clarified".

Conservative MP Dr Luke Evans asked whether or not the Chagos deal can proceed without US support.

Doughty replied: "We have been clear consistently that before the UK can ratify the treaty we would need to do the following: pass primary and secondary legislation; update the UK-US agreement, the exchange of notes; and put in place arrangements on the environment, maritime security and migration."

The government has argued it has to give up sovereignty over the territory due to international legal rulings in favour of Mauritius.

The UK has said it would pay Mauritius an average of £101m a year for 99 years, which Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer claimed amounted to a "net cost" of £3.4bn after adjusting for factors including inflation.