Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether there are provisions in the agreement on the future of the Chagos Islands for the United States government to contribute financially to the maintenance of the Diego Garcia military base.

The deal will be between the UK and Mauritius. The base is an essential part of the UK-US defence relationship, and the US contributes a great deal to the operating cost of the base. Once the treaty is signed it will be put before both Houses for scrutiny before ratification in the usual way. This will include costs.