Keir Starmer insists the Falkland Islands 'will remain British' despite Chagos handover

9 October 2024, 14:29

Sir Keir Starmer has declared the Falkland Islands will remain British as he faced questions over his decision hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The PM came under fire following the decision, with some suggesting the Falklands, which sit nearly 8,000 from the UK, could be next.

But Sir Keir put those fears to rest during PMQs on Wednesday, declaring the much-contested isle will remain British.

Sir Keir said: “My uncle nearly lost his life when his ship was torpedoed defending the Falklands.”

Read more: Argentina vows to gain 'full sovereignty' of the Falklands following UK's return of Chagos Islands

When jeers rang out across the Commons, he continued: “They are British, and they will remain British. It's personal to me. The sovereignty of Gibraltar is equally not going to be negotiated.”

The PM dodged questions of the Falkland’s sovereignty last week, when he failed to confirm if any more British territories would be given away.

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It came after Argentina vowed to gain "full sovereignty" of the Falkland Islands following Starmer’s Chagos decision.

The country's foreign minister, Diana Mondino, welcomed the step taken by Starmer's Government towards ending "outdated practices" after Britain returned the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

She promised "concrete action" to ensure that the Falklands - the British-controlled archipelago that Argentina calls the Malvinas and claims as its own - are handed to Buenos Aires.

Ms Mondino said: "The long dispute between Britain and Mauritius came to a conclusion today, with Mauritians successfully regaining their territory of Chagos.

"We welcome this step in the right direction and the end to outdated practices. Following the path we have already taken, with concrete actions and not empty rhetoric, we will recover full sovereignty over our Malvinas Islands.

"The Malvinas were, are and will always be Argentine."

The UK Government said earlier it had reached a political agreement with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, following negotiations which began in 2022.

Mauritius will assume sovereignty over the archipelago while the joint US-UK military base remains on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

The Foreign Office said the agreement means the status of the base will be undisputed and legally secure.

US President Joe Biden welcomed the "historic" agreement and said it secures the "effective operation of the joint facility into the next century".

Reaction to the deal was mixed, with some hailing the end to a bitter and long-running dispute over Britain's last African colony but others, including Tory leadership candidates, suggested it could undermine UK security.

Human rights campaigners, who have called for full reparations to generations affected by the forcible displacement of islanders, argued the deal does not go far enough to address the wrongs of the past.

Chagossians were forced to leave the central Indian Ocean territory by 1973 to make way for the military base.

The expulsions are regarded as one of the most shameful parts of Britain's modern colonial history and Chagossians have spent decades fighting to return to the islands.

The United Nations' highest court, the International Court of Justice, previously ruled the UK's administration of the territory was "unlawful" and must end.

Meanwhile, the shadow of the Falklands war hands over UK-Argentine relations, with Buenos Aires invading in 1982 and claiming it inherited the islands from Spain in the 1800s.

The conflict resulted in 655 Argentinian, 255 British and three Falkland deaths before British forces regained control.

A joint statement from the UK and Mauritius governments said the new deal will be subject to a treaty that will "address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians".

The agreement over the continued UK-US military presence on Diego Garcia is expected to run for 99 years with an option to renew, with Britain paying a regular annual sum of money.