Edward Leigh
Main Page: Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough)Department Debates - View all Edward Leigh's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(2 days ago)
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Sir Edward Leigh (Gainsborough) (Con)
For all intents and purposes, Diego Garcia is an American military base, but the Government claim that to protect it, we must basically sell it to Mauritius at vast cost. There is one country in the world that does not acknowledge the International Court of Justice: the United States. Why do we not create a virtuous circle and sell the base to President Trump for £6 billion, and use that £6 billion to start the process of raising our defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030?
Wes Streeting
With great respect to the Father of the House, I do not think that is the right solution. I think we can reach an agreement with the United States and Mauritius—and before Opposition Front Benchers become too animated, let me just delicately point out that they were accused only last week by the United States of playing politics with national security. I could not agree more, and I hope that they can work in a more constructive spirit.