Keir Starmer humbles Kemi Badenoch with brutal six-word swipe over national security

Keir Starmer batted off an attack by Kemi Badenoch over the Chagos Islands, saying a deal for the territory was essential for national security – and suggested she didn’t have all the facts

Keir Starmer brutally floored Kemi Badenoch by suggesting she is clueless on national security – and told MPs she is “not fit to be Prime Minister”.

He batted away an attack from the Tory leader over the Chagos Islands, saying the Tory leader has never asked for a briefing on the implications. He went on to accuse her of “playing student politics” – pointing out that the Tories had carried out 11 of 13 negotiation rounds.

The Prime Minister said an agreement with Mauritius was crucial for national security, saying it clears up legal uncertainty over the islands, home to a military base on Diego Garcia. Failure to do so, he said, would be a “gift for our adversaries”.

After Ms Badenoch’s attack, Mr Starmer said she was entitled to a briefing on the matter – but hadn’t had one. The PM said:”If the Leader of the Opposition is properly briefed on the national security implications, when she is asking these questions – which she is perfectly entitled to do – then she knows exactly what I am talking about in terms of national security and legal certainty.

“If, on the other hand, she is not properly briefed on the national security implications, she is not doing her job, she’s not concerned about national security and she’s not fit to be prime minister.”

The PM said that the “legal certainty” of the base had been thrown into doubt a number of years ago. He went on to say that Ms Badenoch had never asked for a security briefing about the base and accused Ms Badenoch of “playing student politics”.

Referencing the issues, he said “some within the party opposite know exactly what I’m talking about”.

The brutal slapdown came after Ms Badenoch called the deal with Mauritius an “immoral surrender”. She told the Commons: “This is an immoral surrender so North London lawyers can boast at their dinner parties.”

The PM responded: “This is a military base that is vital to our national security.” He later continued: “A number of years ago, the legal certainty of that base was thrown into doubt. Let me be clear and I’ll pick my words carefully, without legal certainty, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should. That is bad for our national security and it’s a gift to our adversaries.”

The blunt exchange came after the Foreign Office denied the cost of handing over the Chagos Island could rise to £18billion. Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam had told his country’s National Assembly that he had rewritten the deal to ensure payments from the UK rose in line with inflation and to give his country an effective veto on extending the terms of the agreement beyond 99 years.

The Government plans to hand the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius but pay to lease back the strategically important US-UK military base on Diego Garcia. The Government argues that international legal rulings on sovereignty over the archipelago mean the UK has to cede the islands to Mauritius.

The Foreign Office also insisted there had been “no change” to the terms for the extension. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The figures being quoted are entirely inaccurate and misleading. There has been no change to the terms of extension in the treaty. The UK will only sign a deal that is in our national interest.”