The Conservatives have just published a new bill that would block the Prime Minister’s hand over of the islands to Mauritius.

The Conservatives have just published a new bill that, if passed, would block Keir Starmer’s surrender of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel will present the bill to the Commons today, in an effort to stop the handover and support British Chagossians who were not consulted by the government over the planned handover.

The legislation will specify that the Chagos islands fall under British sovereignty, which cannot be negotiated away without parliamentary approval.

It would also block the government from handed any money to Mauritius as part of the deal unless approved by MPs, in response to the planned £30 billion gift being proposed by the Prime Minister.

Dame Priti said: “Labour’s Chagos surrender deal undermines our national security, will cost British taxpayers £30bn and has betrayed British Chagossians.

Priti Patel will present a new bill to block the deal (Image: Getty)

“Within days of coming to government last year the white flag was already being waved by Labour and now we can all see the huge costs it will have and the shameful failure to consider the rights of British Chagossians.

“This Bill will block the surrender of sovereignty and betrayal of British Chagossians.

“Keir Starmer and David Lammy have been too busy cosying up to their left-wing lawyer friends and activists to defend our national interests.

“Parliament must put a stop to this shameful surrender deal and legislate to protect our sovereignty, the rights of British Chagossians and taxpayers’ money.”

The British Indian Ocean Territory (Sovereignty and Constitutional Arrangements) Bill is the latest effort by the Tories and opposition parties to block the Prime Minister’s attempts to barter away a key strategic military base.

Diego Garcia is a key British military base in the region (Image: Getty)

The Prime Minister announced the agreement three weeks ago to howls of outrage.

He claimed that the deal will cost Britain an average of £101 million a year, with a total overall cost of £3.4 billion.

However it is now widely understood that the PM’s £3.4 billion claim is merely government accounting trickery, and the true cost is much higher.

The Tories have claimed the real figure is over £30 billion a year, when including inflation and all the other costs Britain is paying beyond the leasing of the Diego Garcia base.

The rent for the base alone is broken down as follows: £165 million a year for the first three years; £120 million a year for the next ten; then £120m plus inflation for years 14-99.

On top of that the UK has agreed to cough up £45 million a year for 25 years for development in Mauritius; and £40 million for a Chagossian trust fund.

Assuming an average of 2% inflation over the next 99 years, this sums to over £30 billion.

Shadow Chancellor, Mel Stride said: “Labour have agreed to hand over British sovereign territory and the taxpayer is on the hook to the tune of billions of pounds for the privilege. This isn’t diplomacy – it’s daylight robbery.

“That is money which could have gone on boosting our national defence or reducing our ever increasing national debt. When Labour said they would increase defence spending, they did not say they would do it by paying rent on our own land to foreign governments. Every time Labour negotiates, Britain loses.”