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HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillThe legal analysis that this Government have received, and indeed that the last Government received, showed that the position of UK sovereignty over the Diego Garcia military base…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillI will give way to the right hon. Gentleman first and then come to the hon. Gentleman.09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillI agree with the right hon. Gentleman about the way the Chagossians were treated. For those who have a copy of the treaty to hand, part of the preamble says that the parties are “…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillIf the hon. Member does not mind, I will come back to him when I deal with the Chagossians later, but in the meantime I am happy to take the other intervention.09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillI will return to the Green Book in a moment, but will give way first to my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Mr Bailey). I am trying to be fair to everyone.09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillThe deal represents broadly 0.2% of the defence budget. The total deal represents less than the cost of the unusable personal protective equipment acquired by the previous…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillI will give way to the former Defence Minister.09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillI will make a little bit more progress and then I will come back to the hon. Gentleman. [ Interruption. ] I can hear the shadow Foreign Secretary has gone back to her shouting…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillIn support of the deal, the US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, put it well when he said: “Diego Garcia is a vital military base for the US. The UK’s (very important) deal with…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillI will come back to the hon. Gentleman in a moment. Although the Chagossians could not be part of the negotiations as they were conducted on a state-to-state basis, both the…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillThe hon. Gentleman’s intervention is not about Chagossians, but I realise I could not take his intervention earlier. He asks about the meaning of the social time preference rate…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillThat is precisely why my FCDO colleagues are working very closely with Mauritius to ensure that the money that is included in the treaty, and the obligations that both the UK and…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillThe Minister of State has met a full range of groups, including the group mentioned by the right hon. Gentleman.09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillFor the last time, and then I need to conclude my remarks.09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillWe are securing one of the most valuable military bases on the planet. We are securing our close intelligence relationship with the United States. We are securing a vital base for…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillThe hon. Gentleman will know that we have published the full methodology, and that the social time preference rate is only one part of the calculation that we have used; we have…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillI am happy to give way to the hon. Gentleman and then to my hon. Friend.09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillMy hon. Friend is exactly right. On the reasoned amendments, my colleague who is to conclude the debate, the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, my…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillThat is not a matter for me in relation to this Bill, but my hon. Friend has put his views on the record, and I am certain that others on the Front Bench will have heard what he…09 Sept 2025HANSARDDiego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory BillAs I just mentioned—the hon. Gentleman might have missed it—I will give way in a moment, but I will now make some progress. Courts and international bodies were already making…09 Sept 2025