Lee Anderson has slammed Sit Keir Starmer’s “act of treason” after Reform UK leader Nigel Farage waded into the Chagos Islands row.
Lee Anderson has slammed the decision to hand over the Chagos Islands (Image: Getty)
The Prime Minister announced earlier this week that the UK will be handing the Indian Ocean islands over to Mauritius.
They have been under British rule alongside Mauritius since 1814. Before this, it was controlled by the French, who brought over Indian and African slaves – they became the Chagossians.
In the 1960s and 70s, Britain granted Mauritius independence and expelled Chagossians from the islands at the USA’s request to make way for an American military base.
The islands being handed to Mauritius will allow the Chagossians the right to return to their homes after almost 60 years, apart from the island housing the UK-US base.
The Chagos Islands are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean (Image: Getty)
A joint statement from the UK and Mauritius governments said the agreement would “address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians”.
But not all are happy about this. Reform MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, said on X (formerly Twitter): “This is an act of High Treason, in my opinion.”
The Reform UK MP was in agreement with Clacton MP Nigel Farage’s decision to request a Commons debate and vote on the choice to hand over the Chagos Islands.
The party leader wrote to Foreign Secretary David Lammy and said on X: “Parliament must be able to scrutinise Starmer’s decision to hand over the Chagos Islands — before a treaty is signed.
“I have written to David Lammy to request an urgent debate and a vote in the House on Monday. This surrender was not in the Labour manifesto.”
Many in the Chagos Islands and Mauritius are pleased with Starmer’s decision to hand sovereignty over.
Olivier Bancoult, chair of the Chagos Refugee Group, who was four years old when his family was deported, welcomed it, describing it as “a big day”.
“This has been a long struggle lasting more than 40 years and many of our people have passed away,” said Bancoult, who has been legally challenging UK sovereignty since 2000.
“But today is a sign of recognition of the injustice done against Chagossians who were forced to leave their homes.”
The International Court of Justice issued an advisory in 2019 stating that the UK “has an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible”.
It added that “all Member States must co-operate with the United Nations to complete the decolonization of Mauritius”.
In 2021, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea confirmed that the UK has “no sovereignty over the Chagos Islands”, and thus the islands should be handed back to Mauritius.
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Keir Starmer accused of ‘covering up’ number of OAPs who will die due to winter fuel cuts
Labour ministers “deliberately withheld” crucial information about the impact of axing winter fuel payments, it has been claimed.
Sir Keir Starmer has faced fresh fury over winter fuel cuts (Image: Getty)
The Conservatives said the failure to disclose the impact of ending universal cold weather payments may have broken Cabinet Office guidance and even the Ministerial Code.
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of covering up estimates of how many elderly people could die this winter.
The Department for Work and Pensions released a “high level equality analysis” following a Freedom of Information request.
Chris Philp has blasted Labour’s winter fuel cuts (Image: Getty)
Men are more likely to lose out under the changes than women, while 97% of couples will be hit. Some 5.5 million pensioners will miss out and 4.5 million of those live alone.
The figures show that 71% of people with a disability who currently get a winter fuel payment will lose it, around 1.6m pensioners.
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, Chris Philp, told the Sunday Telegraph: “This clearly breaches Cabinet Office guidance and possibly the Ministerial Code.
“It is appalling that on September 10, members of this House were asked to vote on the motion, while the equalities analysis that the Government released on September 13 was clearly available, but the Government chose to withhold it from members before the vote.”
He went on to argue that he can “only conclude” the Government “deliberately withheld important information from the House, about a callous policy that will impact millions of our constituents”.
Mr Philp said: “It chose only to make it available once the vote on the regulations had been won, and after Parliament had risen. As a result, there would not be a timely opportunity for members of this House to question the Government about the impact that cutting winter fuel payments will have on their constituents.”
A spokesman for the Leader of the Commons said: “Means testing the winter fuel payment was not a decision the Government wanted or expected to make. But we inherited a £22 billion black hole in the public finances for this year alone.
“This Government is committed to the highest standards, ensuring we are open and transparent with Parliament and the public. The equality analysis was published by the Department for Work and Pensions and is available online.”
