Suella Braverman tears apart Keir Starmer over Chagos Islands calling David Lammy an idiot
Conservative MP and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has taken to X (Twitter) to brutally slam Prime Minister Kier Starmer and Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy.
Her scathing attack comes following the announcment that the UK will give sovereignty of Chagos Islands to Mauritius. She called the move a ‘shameful decision’ and called David Lammy ‘China’s useful idiot’.
Conservative MP Suella Braverman has slammed Kier Starmer and David Lammy in a scathing attack on X (Image: Getty)
However, the move is not a new one under Starmer’s Labour Government. Fellow former Home Secretary James Cleverly reopened the process in November 2022 under Rishi Sunak’s Government, just months after Suella was appointed Home Secretary under Liz Truss.
The uproar surrounds the announcement that the UK is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than 50 years as reported by the BBC.
The historic move was reached after years of negotations and includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, used by the US government as a military base for its navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft. It has been reported that the announcment was made in a joint statement by Kier Starmer and the Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
It ends decades of often tense negotiations between the two countries. But Suella is furious at the move, saying that it “severly undermines UK national security”.
She wrote: This is a shameful decision. Starmer’s reckless capitulation over the Chagos Islands severely undermines UK national security. We all knew Lammy was weak but now it’s official: he’s China’s useful idiot too. A dark day for our country’s sovereignty.”
The US-UK base will remain on Diego Garcia – a key factor enabling the deal to go forward at a time of growing geopolitical rivalries in the region between Western countries, India, and China.
But it’s not all fully set in stone yet as the deal is still subject to finalisation of a treaty, but both sides have promised to complete it as quickly as possible. As part of the deal, the UK will provide a package of financial support to Mauritius, including annual payments and infrastructure investment.
The statement from the Prime Ministers read: “This is a seminal moment in our relationship and a demonstration of our enduring commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes and the rule of law.”
They also said they were committed “to ensure the long-term, secure and effective operation of the existing base on Diego Garcia which plays a vital role in regional and global security” and that the treaty “address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians”.
Pravind Jugnauth and former PM Rishi Sunak shake hands at the G20 2023 New Delhi Summit (Image: Getty)
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the benefits of the deal included closing “a potential illegal migration route”. This is related to dozens of Sri Lankan Tamils, who have been held in a fenced camp on the island for three years as complex legal battles are waged over their fate.
It is unclear what this news will mean for them.
Mauritius will also be able to begin a programme of resettlement on the Chagos Islands. This will not be the case on Diego Garcia, where the UK will ensure operation of the military base for “an initial period” of 99 years.
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Keir Starmer pledges £22 billion for UK carbon capture projects in Merseyside and Teesside
The Prime Minister has pledged nearly £22 billion in funding to develop projects to capture and store carbon emissions from energy, industry and hydrogen production.
‘Mammoth’ Plant Captures CO2 From Air And Turns It To Stone (Image: Getty)
It is hoped the funding for two “carbon capture clusters” in Merseyside and Teesside, promised over the next 25 years, will create and support thousands of jobs, draw in private investment and help the UK meet climate goals.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer claimed the move was “reigniting our industrial heartlands by investing in the industry of the future”, as he made the announcement with Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) is a technology which captures the emissions from burning fuels for energy or from industrial processes such as cement production, and uses or transports them for storage permanently underground – for example, in disused oil fields under the sea.
It is seen by the likes of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Climate Change Committee as a key element in meeting targets to cut the greenhouse gases driving dangerous climate change.
While it has long been championed as part of the solution – with Energy and Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband first announcing plans to develop carbon capture projects for power plants in 2009 during the last Labour government – and it uses well-tested technology, little progress has been made on it in the UK.
Funding of up to £21.7 billion over 25 years focuses on subsidies to three projects in Teesside and Merseyside, once they start capturing carbon from hydrogen, gas power, and energy from waste, to support the development of the clusters, including the infrastructure to transport and store carbon.
The Government said the move would give industry confidence to invest in the UK, attracting £8 billion of private investment, directly creating 4,000 jobs and supporting 50,000 in the long term.
It will also help remove 8.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, officials said, with the first carbon dioxide being stored from 2028.
Sir Keir said: “For the past 14 years, business has been second-guessing a dysfunctional government – which has set us back and caused an economic slump.
“Today’s announcement will give industry the certainty it needs – committing to 25 years of funding in this ground-breaking technology – to help deliver jobs, kickstart growth, and repair this country once and for all.”
But Greenpeace UK’s policy director, Doug Parr, said £22 billion “is a lot of money to spend on something that is going to extend the life of planet-heating oil and gas production”.
While he acknowledged it was vital the Government commitment to industrial investment and job creation while tackling the climate crisis, “it needs to be the right sort of industries”.
“Carbon capture may be needed for hard to abate sectors, such as cement production; however, hydrogen derived from gas is not low-carbon and there is a risk of locking ourselves into second-rate solutions, especially as the oil industry could easily hoover up most of the money to continue business as usual.”
He called for the bulk of the money to be invested in creating new jobs in sectors such as offshore wind or rolling out a nationwide home insulation programme to cut bills.
