Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

UK-Mauritius Chagos Agreement

Monday 30 June 2025 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The cost of the UK-Mauritius agreement concerning the Chagos archipelago represents less than 0 2% of the annual MOD budget
  • The agreement secures unrestricted access to and use of the base on Diego Garcia
  • The future of Diego Garcia is vital for global security according to the Minister

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Greg Smith Con Mid Buckinghamshire
Defence
Context

The cost of the UK-Mauritius agreement is less than 0.2% of the annual MOD budget.

Question

What estimate has been made of the cost to his Department of the UK-Mauritius agreement concerning the Chagos archipelago, including Diego Garcia? Does the £30 billion count towards the new NATO target of 3.5%, or the additional 1.5% on top of that? As we have to inform the Mauritian Government before we do anything particularly useful from that base, should that cost actually be counted in the defence numbers at all?

Answer from The Minister for the Armed Forces (Luke Pollard)

As the Defence Secretary has said, the cost of the agreement represents less than 0.2% of the annual MOD budget. This has secured unrestricted access to and use of the base on Diego Garcia, control over movement of all persons and goods on the base, and control of all communications and electronic systems. Under the treaty, we have to provide notification after the event, not before any military action.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The cost inclusion in NATO targets was not addressed directly.

How: Squashed Last Comment

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Q2 Luke Akehurst Lab North Durham
Defence Foreign Affairs
Context

The Minister has noted that closest allies have welcomed the deal.

Question

Is it not the case that our closest allies—the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and even India—have all welcomed this deal, precisely because they recognise the irreplaceable role of Diego Garcia in global security? What does the Minister think is going on with the Opposition, who think they know more about global security than the security services, the White House and the Pentagon?

Answer from The Minister for the Armed Forces (Luke Pollard)

This is important because the future of Diego Garcia is absolutely vital. Having accepted the principle that sovereignty could be secured only by a negotiated settlement—that was the decision taken by the last Government—it is right that we secured a deal, and right that we protect the base for operations for more than 100 years.

Answered

Not addressed: null

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