The UK has insisted that it has no plans to let go of Gibraltar despite Prime Minster Keir Starmer’s decision to surrender the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, an ally of China.
Stephen Doughty, Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories said on October 5 that no other territories controlled by the UK were currently on the Labour leader’s chopping block.
“British sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar or any other of our Overseas Territories is not up for negotiation,” the minister wrote on X.
“The Chagos Islands are a very different issue with a very different history. The UK remains resolutely committed to all our Overseas Territories.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office minister’s intervention followed Sir Keir’s defence of ceding UK control of the Chagos Islands on Friday. He told journalists that the agreement with Mauritius over the remote Indian Ocean archipelago was the “single most important thing” in securing the long-term future of a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
When asked to guarantee that no other British overseas territories would be signed away, the PM avoided a direct answer and instead replied: “The single most important thing was ensuring that we had a secure base, the joint US-UK base; hugely important to the US, hugely important to us.”
In a further bid to quell speculation about the future of “The Rock”, Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo also took to X saying the reports in the UK media raising questions about the future of the UK’s other overseas territories “are wrong”.
He said: “The Prime Minister has explicitly ruled out any transfer of the sovereignty of Gibraltar.”
“He has done so in writing… I shared that with everyone on the Rock on National Day, three weeks ago.”
“We have his explicit commitment that the Labour Government will never compromise on Gibraltar’s sovereignty and commitment to the double lock.”
“There is no issue here and no room to make one up to sell newspapers or unfairly tarnish an opponent,” he added.
The latest upset comes as the future of Gibraltar remains in the balance with the UK, Spain and the European Union locked in long-running talks over a post-Brexit treaty.
