James Saunders
Guest Reporter
Conservative peers are planning to delay the handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius to let Donald Trump block the controversial deal.
A group of Lords, headed up by ex-Foreign Office Minister Lord Bellingham, is planning to force the Labour Government to hold a referendum of Chagossians in Britain on the deal before it comes into force.
Labour has already agreed a draft treaty with Mauritius - but when it reaches the Lords, peers are plotting to force an amendment on it to require the UK to hold a vote, The Telegraph revealed on Friday.
Any such vote would require tracking down the 3,500-strong Chagossian population in the UK - which Lords hope could delay the treaty's final sign-off until after Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 next year.
Lord Bellingham said: "The only way actually to ensure that there has been a proper consultation is if there's a referendum.
"It's going to be impossible to track them down, but something like 50,000 graduates of Oxford are going to be voting on the new chancellor, and they're spread around every corner of the globe, so it should be possible to track down Chagossians and at least advertise it."
The amendment is expected to receive significant support from Tory and crossbench peers - which together form a majority in the Lords.
If it passes, it will then be debated in the Commons - but time is running out on ratifying the treaty before Trump returns to the White House, with the Government not yet having set a timetable for bringing it before Parliament.
MORE ON THE CHAGOS SURRENDER:
Lord Bellingham said: "It's going to be very difficult to override the Lords on this and then it'll delay things, and I think Trump will then have his say.
"I'm reasonably optimistic that we can turn the table on this."
Just days ago, The Independent revealed that allies of Nigel Farage had been pushing Trump's senior advisers to investigate the Chagos handover even before November 5's election.
Farage told the newspaper that Trump would be attempting to veto the deal, saying: "It's happening!"
While a US Government official source said: "Trump has received a UK-sourced briefing on Chagos and has asked the Presidential transition team to work with the Pentagon to get legal advice.
"He has expressed a stance in principle to object to the deal if elected on the advice of the Department of Defence based on their global security posture."
While Trump's own national security adviser Mike Waltz warned: "Should the UK cede control of the Chagos to Mauritius, I have no doubt that China will take advantage of the resulting vacuum."
The Foreign Office has insisted the treaty contains protections against Chinese encroachment on the archipelago.
Find Out More...
A group of Lords, headed up by ex-Foreign Office Minister Lord Bellingham, is planning to force the Labour Government to hold a referendum of Chagossians in Britain on the deal before it comes into force.
Labour has already agreed a draft treaty with Mauritius - but when it reaches the Lords, peers are plotting to force an amendment on it to require the UK to hold a vote, The Telegraph revealed on Friday.
Any such vote would require tracking down the 3,500-strong Chagossian population in the UK - which Lords hope could delay the treaty's final sign-off until after Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20 next year.
Lord Bellingham said: "The only way actually to ensure that there has been a proper consultation is if there's a referendum.
"It's going to be impossible to track them down, but something like 50,000 graduates of Oxford are going to be voting on the new chancellor, and they're spread around every corner of the globe, so it should be possible to track down Chagossians and at least advertise it."
The amendment is expected to receive significant support from Tory and crossbench peers - which together form a majority in the Lords.
If it passes, it will then be debated in the Commons - but time is running out on ratifying the treaty before Trump returns to the White House, with the Government not yet having set a timetable for bringing it before Parliament.
MORE ON THE CHAGOS SURRENDER:
- Government may have to 'eat their own words' over Chagos Islands, warns Nigel Farage
- Starmer accused of 'silencing' Chagossians over Mauritius deal as Farage 'has Trump's ear' over scrapping plan
- 'No trusting them!' Chagos Islanders warn Labour could abandon any overseas UK territory
Lord Bellingham said: "It's going to be very difficult to override the Lords on this and then it'll delay things, and I think Trump will then have his say.
"I'm reasonably optimistic that we can turn the table on this."
Just days ago, The Independent revealed that allies of Nigel Farage had been pushing Trump's senior advisers to investigate the Chagos handover even before November 5's election.
Farage told the newspaper that Trump would be attempting to veto the deal, saying: "It's happening!"
While a US Government official source said: "Trump has received a UK-sourced briefing on Chagos and has asked the Presidential transition team to work with the Pentagon to get legal advice.
"He has expressed a stance in principle to object to the deal if elected on the advice of the Department of Defence based on their global security posture."
While Trump's own national security adviser Mike Waltz warned: "Should the UK cede control of the Chagos to Mauritius, I have no doubt that China will take advantage of the resulting vacuum."
The Foreign Office has insisted the treaty contains protections against Chinese encroachment on the archipelago.
Find Out More...