Sir Iain Duncan Smith says Labour has “betrayed” the nation as the Chagos deal is set to go ahead.
Speaking to GB News, the former leader of the Conservatives said the Government has been “deceiving” to US President Donald Trump and the administration “didn’t know what they were signing up for”.
Mr Trump is set to approve Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial Chagos deal to Mauritius after Downing Street offered him extra security guarantees.
The US President is expected to give final approval in a second call this week with the Prime Minister.
Discussing the deal on the People’s Channel, Sir Iain said: “This Government has betrayed us. We talk about betrayal, this is a big betrayal.
“We have the right over the Chagos Islands. And what happens is that the problem is that they got a judgment in the UN, and it couldn’t be an absolute judgment, it was an observatory and guidance. It wasn’t anything else from that.
“And what happened was this Government decided before they were in power that what they were going to do straight away is to get this into law and then put a treaty together and get rid of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.”
He added: “And the problem is that is our responsibility, we have a sovereign right over those islands.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith has accused Sir Keir Starmer of a ‘big betrayal’ over the Chagos deal
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GB NEWS / PA
Highlighting the strategic importance of the Chagos Islands to both the UK and US, Sir Iain explained: “And the problem is right now that China is very close to Mauritius, the American base in Diego Garcia, which is absolutely, probably the most strategically critical base that America has arguably almost anywhere in the globe.
“Because it looks across the east west trade routes to China, it looks into the Middle East, and it is critical for any support work that may take place.”
Reflecting on US relations amid the Peter Mandelson scandal, the ex-Tory leader suggested the Trump administration may not have “known what they were signing up for” with the deal.
He told GB News: “I’ve talked to a whole bunch of senators and congressmen about their views on this, and once they understand how much the British Government has been deceiving, I believe, and that’s a very powerful word.
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“But I believe the British Government, particularly with Mandelson there, has not told the truth about what actually America would be signing up to.”
Noting the historic 1966 treaty between the US and UK, Sir Iain argued that Mr Trump still “has the power to say no” as the Chagos deal will be in breach of the agreement.
He said: “What they never said at the beginning was that there was a 1966 treaty, when Diego Garcia was planned to be built, they had an exchange of letters between the US Government and I think it must have been Harold Wilson at the time.
“Now, what was interesting about that is the deal on this was that Diego Garcia would be built, but the UK would retain sovereign control of the islands. Now that is still in place and that is an absolute treaty and that gives the US Government the right to say no.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith told GB News that holding sovereignty is ‘critical’
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GB NEWS
“Because our guarantees are that you have sovereign right to control those islands, and we trust you, but they cannot trust Mauritius because China will be in there like a shot. And the Russians doesn’t have a Navy that can patrol any of this, and that’s the threat.”
Pressed by Bev Turner on whether he believes the Labour Government, including Peter Mandelson, lied to Mr Trump, Sir Iain said: “Well, there are two elements, the one that I’ve just named, and the second element in all of this is that what they didn’t discuss with the US Government was the fact that the treaty, which is a Pan-African treaty, which is to stop nuclear weapons being based anywhere in Africa.
“Mauritius has signed up to that. That has a terrible impact on this, because it would mean that Mauritius would have the right to say, you must declare that you have any nuclear weapons on now.
“America will never do that, nor would the UK. But that then gives a right of inspection also from the treaty. And that’s the real problem, is suddenly it becomes very dodgy for Diego Garcia further down the road. How do you protect from that? We hold on to sovereignty, that’s critical.”