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Sir Keir Starmer was accused of staging the “U-turn of all U-turns” by shelving his widely-condemned deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands and a crucial UK-US military base to Mauritius. The Prime Minister was branded a “man with absolutely no backbone” by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who pledged to ensure the “whole madcap idea is not just dead but buried”.

The decision not to include a Bill to give sovereignty to Mauritius in next month’s King’s Speech has been hailed as Sir Keir’s 16th major U-turn. It follows President Trump branding the deal an “act of great stupidity”. A former Defence Secretary called for the “colonial guilt” which “seems to drive Foreign Office decision-making” to be “ditched” and said there was a strong case for an inquiry into the fiasco.

Writing in the Sunday Express, Mrs Badenoch described the absence of the Bill from the King’s Speech as the “U-turn of all U-turns from a man with absolutely no backbone”.

Mrs Badenoch said the deal to lease back the Diego Garcia military base from Mauritius belonged on the “dust heap” and used a major speech to the London Defence Conference to call for the “biggest peacetime programme of rearmament in our country’s history”. She warned Britain had prioritised spending on “benefits over bullets” and drifted “into the role of commentator with little capability”.

The Tory leader challenged Sir Keir to “find the money to rearm” by making spending cuts, saying that “if we reach agreement on a joint plan, Conservatives will support those measures in Parliament on a three-line whip”.

Mrs Badenoch also pressed for action to ensure military personnel are not hounded by prosecutors, warning that “lawfare” is “weakening Britain”.

She said: “We need to stop pursuing our veterans through the courts. Of course, our soldiers should fight within the law. But the reality of war is that split-second decisions determine life and death. Pursuing decent people through the courts decades later as Labour is doing with its Troubles legislation is not only morally wrong, it limits our ability to recruit and retain people in the military, particularly our special forces. That is why my party’s policy is to leave the ECHR. Because, among other things, we must protect our veterans and our servicemen and women.”

The shelving of the deal is the latest evidence of deteriorating relations with the United States. It is reported that the treaty could not be enacted with an exchange of letters with the US, which has yet to take place.

Senior figures in UK politics, including Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel, have travelled to the US to lobby against the giveaway of the islands.

Former Defence Secretary Sir Liam Fox said the American kiboshing of the deal was “one definite plus for the special relationship”.

He said: “Britain’s act of international self-harm has been finally halted by Washington. The shameful sellout of the Chagos islands would have gone ahead if Britain’s useless Labour Government had been allowed to get its way.”

The failure to get the treaty enacted is a personal blow for Sir Keir ahead of the May elections. It follows U-turns on winter fuel payments entitlement and the increase in inheritance tax on farming families, as well as the watering down of plans to restrict eligibility for sickness and disability support.

Ex-Defence Secretary Sir Grant Shapps said he would have quit rather than surrender the islands.

He said: “The Chagos deal deserved to be killed off – it was a disastrous idea from the start. Giving away a vital British strategic asset and paying for the privilege was an act of immense self-harm. As Defence Secretary I would have resigned rather than let this deal go through.”

Sir Grant said Sir Keir’s Government must stop “tying itself up in legal knots and start standing up for Britain and our national interests”.

He added: “That applies just as much to our veterans. Too many have been dragged through endless legal claims after risking their lives for this country. It’s time to end that culture of lawfare and back those who served.”

The Government says the UK would pay £101million annually under the deal to lease back the base for 99 years but the Conservatives claim the true lifetime cost of the arrangement would be in the region of £35billion.

A top concern is that ceding sovereignty of the islands would allow China to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean. However, there are UK worries that without a deal Mauritius may mount a legal challenge and win access to waters around the base, making it more difficult to host nuclear submarines.

Alan Mendoza, the co-founder of the Henry Jackson Society think tank, breathed a sigh of relief that the deal has been stopped in its tracks.

He said: “The Government appears to have finally bowed to the reality that its appalling Chagos Islands deal will not pass the scrutiny of allies. US opposition on the grounds of the strategic importance of Diego Garcia appears to have saved us from ourselves, and from making a mistake of historic proportions.”

Mr Mendoza, who advises Reform UK in a personal capacity, also urged the Government to take action to protect veterans from prosecution.

He said: “The Government should legislate to prevent the vexatious lawfare we have seen so much of against our military personnel. Those who put their lives on the line for this nation deserve to know that the country has their back afterwards.”

Sir Gavin Williamson, who served as Defence Secretary under Theresa May, gave a scathing assessment of Labour’s leadership.

He said: “The Government‘s handling of this has been utterly disastrous. There needs to be a serious look at this and Britain needs to have a rethink about how it approaches such matters. The colonial guilt that seems to drive foreign Office decision-making has to be ditched and British interests need to be put at the centre of all future decisions. There is probably a need for a serious inquiry as to how the government has ended up in such a humiliating position.”

Fellow former Defence Secretary Dame Penny Mordaunt said national security is vital for economic growth and applauded Mrs Badenoch for her role in derailing the Chagos deal.

She said: “You can’t grow the economy if your energy, data and interests aren’t secure. She has led the charge on stopping the Chagos Islands deal which would have impeded every aspect of our military operations and she knows that it is imperative we rearm and modernise defence now.”

But Labour defence minister Luke Pollard “Kemi Badenoch’s message is: ‘The Tories hollowed out Britain’s defences, now put us back in charge.’ Nobody will take that seriously. If she were Prime Minister today, Britain would now be in a war without a plan… And paying for more troops by plunging children into poverty is not a credible plan.”

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “The Tories completely hollowed out the British Army, leaving Britain weaker and less prepared to defend itself than at any point in modern times. It’s shameful our armed forces have been depleted to this extent. We were the only party to promise at the last election to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP.”