MPs vote down amendments to ‘frustrate Chagos surrender’ as two Labour rebels defy PM over ‘weak’ deal
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MPs have voted down three amendments from the House of Lords after just two Labour MPs rebelled against Sir Keir Starmer’s proposed handover to Mauritius.
Blackley & Middleton South MP Graham Stringer and Crawley MP Peter Lamb rebelled on amendments seeking to stop payments to Mauritius and outline full costings.
The Labour duo were joined by former deputy leadership contender Bell Ribeiro-Addy, who defied the Prime Minister on publishing details of the methodology for the payments.
Mr Stringer had earlier urged the Government to “pause” the deal following recent criticism of it by US President Donald Trump.
Amendments 2 and 3 of the Lords’ bill, which call for the holding of a referendum for Chagossians on the terms of the treaty, were not voted on.
A vote on this had previously been ruled out by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle because it would “impose a charge on public revenue”, which the Lords cannot do.
The legislation is intended to provide a firm legal basis for the operation of the strategically important Diego Garcia facility.
Ministers have claimed the deal is necessary because international court rulings in favour of Mauritian claims to sovereignty had threatened the future of the base.
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‘Principled’ Labour MPs rebel against Government on Chagos amendments
Two Labour MPs have rebelled against the Government by voting in support of changes to the Diego Garcia Military Base And British Indian Ocean Territory Bill.
According to Parliament’s voting data, Graham Stringer (Blackley and Middleton South) and Peter Lamb (Crawley) supported an amendment tabled by peers which proposed to stop payments to the government of Mauritius “in the event that the use of the base for military purposes became impossible”.
The bid was rejected overall by MPs, who voted 344 to 182, majority 162 to disagree with the amendment.
Mr Stringer had earlier urged the Government to “pause” the deal following recent criticism of it by US President Donald Trump.
Earlier today, Kate Hoey described Mr Stringer as: “One of the few Labour MPs with genuine principles left in Parliament speaks out”
