Overview

• MPs approved the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill at second reading by 330–179, moving the May sovereignty transfer and 99-year lease closer to implementation.
• Chagossian campaigners led by Bertrice Pompe filed an ICC referral accusing Sir Keir Starmer and ministers of crimes against humanity for continuing to bar return to Diego Garcia; the prosecutor will decide on any preliminary probe.
• More than 40 former ministers, MPs and others wrote to President Donald Trump urging him to oppose the deal, citing security concerns including potential constraints under the Pelindaba Treaty and warning of strategic harm.
• The government maintains the agreement’s net present value is £3.4 billion, or about £101 million a year, while independent estimates range far higher, including a £34.7 billion nominal figure from the Government Actuary’s Department and up to £47 billion from the TaxPayers’ Alliance.
• Ministers argue the pact averts legal threats to base operations, including under UNCLOS, but critics dispute that case, point to the UK’s military opt-outs, and warn Mauritius’s ties with Russia, China and Iran could jeopardise Western security.