Chagos Islands deal will see Mauritius ‘receive £35bn over 99 years’
Chagos deal to cost UK ‘10 times more than claimed’
- A deal to transfer the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of the Diego Garcia military base, is projected to cost the UK £34.7 billion over 99 years.
- Conservative Dame Priti Patel has accused ministers of attempting to "cover up" the true cost of the agreement, alleging an "accountancy trick" was used to present the figure as £3.4 billion.
- The higher £34.7 billion figure, released by the Government Actuary’s Department, is a nominal amount, which, when adjusted for inflation, is estimated to be around £10 billion in today's money.
- The government reportedly used a "social time preference" principle, in use since 2003, to reduce the figure by between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent per year.
- Dame Priti criticised Labour figures, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, for what she called a "terrible deal".