The UK government has rejected claims made by Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam that the UK will pay billions more under a renegotiated deal regarding the Chagos Islands.
Last October, the UK announced plans to transfer sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius while maintaining a 99-year lease on the UK-US military airbase on Diego Garcia.
However, after Mauritius elected a new prime minister, Ramgoolam sought to reopen negotiations.
He claimed that new conditions had been negotiated, linking the UK’s lease payments to inflation and frontloading them. The UK Foreign Office disputed these claims, calling the figures “inaccurate and misleading.”
Some senior UK government officials have expressed opposition to the deal, describing it as “terrible” and “impossible to understand.” Concerns have also been raised about the deal’s potential impact on US security, given China’s influence in the region. The UK has paused progress on the deal to consult with the new US administration.
