By GB News (World News) | Created at 2024-11-12 20:31:28 | Updated at 2024-11-14 03:39:37
1 day ago
Conservative MP Wendy Morton has blasted Sir Keir Starmer's Government over its handling of the Chagos Islands sovereignty deal with Mauritius.
Speaking at a Call to Action rally in Hackney, Morton criticised the absence of Labour MPs at an event where Chagossian campaigners voiced their anger over the recent agreement.
Speaking to GB News, Morton said: "It's a huge deal. This is about UK sovereignty and the people today have had the time to really reiterate their anger, their frustration.
"It just feels that like they've been ignored. Where was the consultation? And if we really, truly believe in the right of self-determination, which I do, why haven't they been listened to?
"No opportunity to hold them to account. There are people here this evening from Crawley, from Manchester, from around the country.
"This is the strength of feeling. If this is what this government is going to do to the British Indian Ocean territories, what does that mean for other overseas territories?"
She added: "I've seen no members of the Labour government here this evening at all."
Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf claimed at the rally that the Chagossian campaign would reach the White House after Donald Trump's return to power.
Yusuf suggested that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage would "have the ear" of President Trump to advocate for the islanders' cause.
Farage has already begun laying groundwork for such discussions, saying: "I have spoken to people very closely associated with him about the Chagos situation and about the worry that the Mauritian Government is moving further to the left."
These concerns appear to align with those of Trump's incoming National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, who previously warned: "Should the UK cede control of the Chagos to Mauritius, I have no doubt that China will take advantage of the resulting vacuum."
Nigel Farage has already begun laying groundwork with Trump over the controversial choice
PA
The deal with Mauritius, announced last month, involves the UK surrendering sovereignty of the strategically important Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
A crucial element of the agreement ensures the continuation of the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.
Sir Keir Starmer defended the arrangement, arguing: "The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us."
