Sir Keir Starmer’s bid to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius should be subject to parliamentary approval, ex-Boris Johnson adviser Lord Kempsell has told GB News.
Kempsell is part of a group of Tory peers leading a charge against the deal, arguing ministers do not have the prerogative power to cede British territory to a foreign power.
Speaking to Jacob Rees-Mogg, Kempsell said the Labour Government is acting in a way which is constitutionally improper and all the facts must be presented to Parliament for a debate.
“The core reason that we’re putting forward in this judicial review is that ministers don’t have a prerogative power to do this without approval by Parliament in the form of a piece of primary legislation introduced into the House of Commons”, he said.
“If you cast your mind back to the debate over the future of Hong Kong or many other British sovereign territories, Indian independence was done by an act of Parliament.
“We think there is a strong precedence in law that this deal, if it’s going to be put forward by the Government, should be properly debated in Parliament.
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“I really came to that view and have made this exception for judicial review because I started asking questions about this matter last year in Parliament and frankly, Labour ministers acted with disregards to the views and the role of Parliament in determining the future of British territory.”
The campaign group is comprised of three Tory peers. Kempsell, ex-Cabinet minister Lord Lilley and historian Lord Roberts of Belgravia.
The group is called Save the Chaos and is understood to have financial backing to mount the legal action but has declined to confirm who is funding it.
Kempsell said that while the group’s legal challenge may be able to go ahead, Labour’s overwhelming majority in Parliament would still likely be enough to see the handover go through.
“Labour has a huge majority in the House of Commons”, he said.
“This seems to be the settled will of the Prime Minister but things should still be done constitutionally correct.
“My point here, more than anything else in this judicial review, is to remind the Government that if it is going to give away British territory, it needs to debate this issue properly in Parliament.”
The agreement includes a plan to lease back the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia at British taxpayers’ expense.
President Trump was offered an effective veto on the deal because how it affects US security.
Despite figures in the Labour administration fearing Trump would be opposed to the deal given how unpopular it is among some of his allies, he has given Starmer positive noises.
Asked about it during Starmer’s trip to the Oval Office in February, Trump indicated he would be prepared to back the deal.
“We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well”, he told reporters in Washington DC.
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Kempsell is part of a group of Tory peers leading a charge against the deal, arguing ministers do not have the prerogative power to cede British territory to a foreign power.
Speaking to Jacob Rees-Mogg, Kempsell said the Labour Government is acting in a way which is constitutionally improper and all the facts must be presented to Parliament for a debate.
“The core reason that we’re putting forward in this judicial review is that ministers don’t have a prerogative power to do this without approval by Parliament in the form of a piece of primary legislation introduced into the House of Commons”, he said.
“If you cast your mind back to the debate over the future of Hong Kong or many other British sovereign territories, Indian independence was done by an act of Parliament.
“We think there is a strong precedence in law that this deal, if it’s going to be put forward by the Government, should be properly debated in Parliament.
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“I really came to that view and have made this exception for judicial review because I started asking questions about this matter last year in Parliament and frankly, Labour ministers acted with disregards to the views and the role of Parliament in determining the future of British territory.”
The campaign group is comprised of three Tory peers. Kempsell, ex-Cabinet minister Lord Lilley and historian Lord Roberts of Belgravia.
The group is called Save the Chaos and is understood to have financial backing to mount the legal action but has declined to confirm who is funding it.
Kempsell said that while the group’s legal challenge may be able to go ahead, Labour’s overwhelming majority in Parliament would still likely be enough to see the handover go through.
“Labour has a huge majority in the House of Commons”, he said.
“This seems to be the settled will of the Prime Minister but things should still be done constitutionally correct.
“My point here, more than anything else in this judicial review, is to remind the Government that if it is going to give away British territory, it needs to debate this issue properly in Parliament.”
The agreement includes a plan to lease back the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia at British taxpayers’ expense.
President Trump was offered an effective veto on the deal because how it affects US security.
Despite figures in the Labour administration fearing Trump would be opposed to the deal given how unpopular it is among some of his allies, he has given Starmer positive noises.
Asked about it during Starmer’s trip to the Oval Office in February, Trump indicated he would be prepared to back the deal.
“We’re going to have some discussions about that very soon, and I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well”, he told reporters in Washington DC.
Find Out More...