Labor has been told to abandon its “surrender” of the Chagos Islands following Donald Trump’s election victory after the president-elect’s allies raised concerns about a deal with China-friendly Mauritius

Labor is being told to abandon its deal with Mauritius over the strategic Chagos Islands following Donald Trump’s election victory.

Dame Priti Patel, the Conservative Party’s shadow foreign secretary, said Trump’s historic victory gave the prime minister the chance to reverse his “surrender” of the archipelago.

Last month the government announced it had controversially agreed to hand over the Chagos Islands, officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, to Mauritius, which has ties to China.

Sir Keir Starmer said the deal was necessary to secure the rights of Britain and the United States to continue operating a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

Downing Street pointed to US President Joe Biden’s support for the agreement and said there was a “fragile” legal position for Britain to continue its claims to sovereignty.

But with Trump replacing Biden in the White House in January, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary David Lammy are under growing pressure to rethink the deal.

Senior US Republicans have warned against handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

There are concerns the deal would put the Diego Garcia base at risk from Chinese spies and bolster Beijing at a time of heightened tensions with the West.

Dame Preeti, a former cabinet minister, spoke about this. Times“In their rush to surrender the Chagos Islands, Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy have shown how weak and frail this Labor government is.

“They have failed an important test by showing the world that Labor is unwilling to protect the security and defense of our country and our allies, leaving the future of our military installations on the island in jeopardy.

“With the election of President Trump, we now have the opportunity to reconsider this decision and work constructively with the new U.S. administration to ensure our defense always comes first.”

Expectations are growing that the Chagos Islands deal will see Sir Keir face his first foreign policy clash with Trump when he re-enters the White House.

Yesterday, a Cabinet minister said the Mauritius deal was done and dusted, although the government believes the Pentagon supports it.

But reformist UK leader Nigel Farage is lobbying his political ally Trump to intervene and force Britain to think again.

He told the Mail: “I have spoken to people very closely associated with him about the situation in Chagos and concerns about the Mauritian government moving further to the left.”

Mr Farage said the danger was that the agreement struck by Labor in October, which hands control to Mauritius but allows the US and UK to continue operating the military base on Diego Garcia for at least 99 years, could be undermined as growing Chinese influence in Mauritius.

“Land lease agreements sound great, but look what happened to Hong Kong,” Mr Farage said.

“What would stop this agreement from allowing the Chinese to use one of the other islands?” Given Diego Garcia’s importance in the Gulf War, it is a very important military asset.

“Obviously, we need to see who he (Mr. Trump) appoints as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense. But I think it’s unlikely that this won’t be a problem. I don’t see what we gain from the transfer – a rethink should be possible. It is quite possible that the situation will change.”

He added that Trump’s people were “aware” of legal advice written by pro-Brexit lawyer Martin Howe CC, which argued that the UK was not obliged to cede sovereignty over the islands, despite a 2019 International Court of Justice ruling that Great Britain is not obliged to cede sovereignty over the islands. the occupation was illegal.

A former Foreign Office source told the Mail: “I would be very surprised if Trump didn’t at least try to end the deal.”

The insider said Labor’s rejection of the deal would be an “extraordinary U-turn”, adding: “Ultimately, if Trump really wants this to happen, they have ways of tightening the screws on the government.” Look what they did to Huawei.”

While Mr. Trump has not publicly commented on the Chagos deal, other senior Republicans have done so, including the leading contender to become his secretary of state.

Sen. Marco Rubio called the transfer of power “troubling” last month.

Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden, asked by Sky News if the deal was “100 per cent done and dusted”, said: “Yes, I believe it is,” adding that “in this deal it is important that we ensured that the base will be used there for a long time.”

A government spokesman said: “This agreement protects the long-term secure operation of the UK-US base, which plays a vital role in regional and international security.

“The UK and US have a special relationship built over many decades and we look forward to continuing that relationship with the new US administration, working together on our shared priorities including economic growth, security and defence.”