Mauritius Demands Even More Cash for Chagos Surrender Deal – Guido Fawkes

Mauritius Demands Even More Cash for Chagos Surrender Deal

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Last week Downing Street briefed lobby hacks that the UK was finalising the Chagos surrender deal after talks with President Trump, though when asked about it on Friday, Trump simply replied, “we’ll see.” Now, the sell out has hit a roadblock as the Mauritian government demands even more cash from the UK…

Sources confirm to Guido that Mauritius is now insisting on additional funds beyond the £9 billion reportedly agreed upon, seeking higher lease payments for the Diego Garcia military base, as well as a fresh pot of development aid. British negotiators proposed three suggestions to frontload more money to Mauritius, bringing forward more of the 99 years’ worth of rent payment. The Mauritian government rejected two of the ideas, holding out for a better deal – including more taxpayer cash. Whitehall sources say more money is a “red line.” Meanwhile, the government refuses to say whether this deal is part of Keir Starmer’s defence spending “boost.” No doubt Starmer’s Chagos chum Philippe Sands will still claim that the public won’t see what the fuss is about…