Sir Keir Starmer has warned national security could be put at risk without a deal to give “legal certainty” over the status of the Chagos Islands and the strategically important Diego Garcia military base.

Sir Keir Starmer has come under fire at PMQs after Mauritius said the UK had agreed to change payment terms in its deal to hand it control of the Chagos Islands. It comes after Mauritian PM Navin Ramgoolam claimed the UK had now agreed to front-load the payments and change how they are calculated.

Keir Starmer has insisted that a deal on the 'legal certainty' of the Chagos Islands is 'vital to national security'.