Yes, Starmer’s lawyer pal Lord Hermer wants to resurrect the disastrous Chagos deal. The government, he claims, is determined to see it signed. It would certainly be a fitting coda to the Keir years. A Times editorial, however, puts the boot in:
Appearing before a parliamentary committee this week, Lord Hermer, the attorney-general, said he was still determined to conclude a treaty surrendering the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. This is shocking. It beggars belief that, even at five to midnight in the life of the Starmer government, there are those in Whitehall still seeking to railroad through a deal replete with absurd and dangerous terms. It belongs in one place and one place only: the bin.
Usually, prime ministers, schooled in the hard realities of geopolitics, take their law officers’ advice on international affairs with a pinch of salt. But Lord Hermer’s influence on Sir Keir has been greater due to the latter’s legal training and their friendship. This goes some way to explaining how such a deeply flawed document, hugely damaging to national security, progressed as far as it did.
The treaty, which would have put an end to the British Indian Ocean Territory, the official name of the Chagos archipelago, is exquisitely bad. Under its provisions, the United Kingdom would cede sovereignty of the islands, including the vital Anglo-American air and naval base on Diego Garcia, to Mauritius, an increasingly close friend of China. The use of the base would be secured by a 99-year lease costing £101 million a year.
Why was Britain prepared to pay for access to territory it has owned since 1814? Because of lawyers. Foolishly, the Conservatives opened negotiations with Mauritius after a non-binding ruling in favour of the latter’s threadbare claim to sovereignty by a United Nations court. Instead of simply ignoring an unenforceable finding clearly informed by anti-western sentiment, the Tories began talks with Port Louis. That process, essentially a delaying action, was pursued with gusto by Labour.
Jonathan Powell, a supposed negotiating Svengali, was tasked with sealing a deal. All kinds of bogus arguments were used in pursuit of this sell-out, including the claim — rubbished in parliament by the government’s own telecommunications minister — that the US and UK would somehow lose access to the electromagnetic spectrum around the islands unless they were ceded. Finally, just as it was about to be inked, the treaty was vetoed by President Trump, who had belatedly realised what a terrible lash-up it was.
That is where the story should have ended. Unfortunately, Lord Hermer appears intent on pursuing a project he dares to describe as in the national interest. Clearly, he has not the faintest idea what that is. He is a lawyer, not a strategist, and should stop meddling in areas he does not understand simply to scratch a legal itch. Besides removing Lord Hermer from post at the first opportunity, Andy Burnham should make clear that the Chagos deal is dead and buried.
Mick Hartley 
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