Newslinks for Monday 11th August 2025

Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal will cost 10 times more than he claimed

“Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal will cost 10 times more than he claimed, official figures reveal. The Government’s own estimate of the cost of giving away the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius is almost £35bn, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act – far higher than the £3.4bn figure Sir Keir has previously used in public. Labour ministers now face claims that they misled Parliament and the press with an “accountancy trick” to hide the size of the bill from taxpayers. Under the terms of Sir Keir’s deal, the UK will give up the Chagos Islands by the end of this year and lease back the Diego Garcia military base, a facility built there in the 1970s that has been used by UK and US forces. The cost of the agreement has been fiercely disputed. Sir Keir claimed in May that it would be £3.4bn over 99 years, accounting for inflation and other discounts, but the Conservatives said it would total £30bn. An official document produced by the Government Actuary’s Department shows the cost of the deal was first estimated at 10 times Sir Keir’s figure, at £34.7bn, in nominal terms. It explains how the cost was lowered by the Government using inflation estimates, then reduced again under a controversial accounting method sometimes used for long-term projects. The total cost, which ministers refused to release to Parliament, is equivalent to 10 Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, or more than half the annual schools’ budget. Sir Keir now faces accusations that he misled Parliament, because he told MPs in February that cost estimates between £9bn and £18bn were “absolutely wide of the mark” and suggested the true figure was lower.” – Daily Telegraph

• Britain’s Chagos Islands handover will cost taxpayers ten times more than Keir Starmer said it would – The Sun
• £35bn! Chagos surrender deal ‘will cost Britain ten times more than what the Prime Minister claimed’ – Daily Mail
• Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands betrayal ‘to cost 10 times more than claimed’ – Daily Express

Dinghy migrants get dinghy days out – and Labour frees thousands from prison early

“A host of generous perks are being offered to small boat arrivals — including discounts on martial arts classes and dinghy days out plus £1 Aston Villa match tickets for kids. They are among dozens of farcical asylum deals uncovered in a Sun investigation. Others include half-price on e-bikes — when Army veterans and pensioners only get a fifth off. Among those dishing out deals is Labour-run Rotherham Council — which gives asylum seekers access to the Rothercard, aimed at helping low-earning families with bills. Around 500 in asylum accommodation in the South Yorkshire town are believed to be eligible. At Rother Valley Country Park’s three lakes they get a 30 per cent discount, slashing the cost of a 90-minute double-handed dinghy or sailing boat rental from £20.70 to £14.80. A single-handed dinghy is £12.70, a third down from £16.40. The park also offers discounted watersports including windsurfing. The authority, where one in six live in poverty, raised council tax by three per cent this year. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “It’s shocking that yet another Labour Council has been offering illegal immigrants freebies – this time offering discounts for water sports and boat hires. You could not make it up. Hard-working Brits are subsidising perks for illegal immigrants crossing the Channel, while at the same time seeing local services cut. This has got to stop. The British people have had enough.” – The Sun

• Migrant housing scandal erupts as ministers set aside £500m to close asylum hotels – Daily Express
• Plans to convert empty units into migrant housing in deprived Hampshire town are axed after furious local protests – Daily Mail
• First migrant to be convicted of illegally working for Deliveroo since The Sun’s probe has been fined just £26 – The Sun
• Fury as ministers ‘lose track’ of 150,000 migrant social care workers – Daily Express
• Labour frees 26,000 prisoners early: In just seven months, hundreds jailed for more than 10 years are released – Daily Mail

Comment:

• Labour has forgotten its obligation to prioritise us Brits… the Far Right aren’t the ones causing civil unrest, they are – Matt Goodwin, The Sun
• Deportation talk can’t save Labour without real answers on immigration – Anne McElvoy, The i
• Britain’s soft touch approach to illegal migrants is now way beyond parody – The Sun Says

> Today: Chris Philp: There has been a migration crisis this summer and the Government are not up to tackling it

> Yesterday: Tackling immigration isn’t about race, and the left need to stop branding people concerned about it as racists

Lord Hermer gets final say on Palestine Action

“Lord Hermer will be given the final say on prosecuting hundreds of protesters arrested for supporting Palestine Action. The Attorney General has the power to approve or block further action against the demonstrators under the Terrorism Act after they were caught carrying placards in support of a proscribed group. The Metropolitan Police said 532 people had been arrested at a demonstration in Westminster on Saturday that was designed to overwhelm the criminal justice system. All but one of the arrests took place in Parliament Square, where hundreds of protesters carried placards that read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” The Met said the average age of those arrested was 54 and that more than 100 people hauled away by police were over 70. Officers arrested 263 men, 261 women and eight people who either defined themselves as non-binary or did not disclose their gender…Charges brought under the Terrorism Act must first be approved by the Attorney General, acting in his capacity as the Government’s most senior lawyer, rather than in a political capacity. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, told The Telegraph: “If lawbreakers supporting a proscribed terrorist group aren’t prosecuted, it will be the clearest example yet of two-tier justice under Two-Tier Keir. Lord Hermer needs to enforce the law, not pander to activists he’s sympathetic to.” – Daily Telegraph

• Arrest at Palestine Action protest was a privilege, boasts ex-Blair adviser – Daily Telegraph
• More than 500 people arrested after Palestine Action protest – with almost half aged 60 and above – Sky News
• Will volume of arrests at Palestine Action protests overwhelm police? – Sky News
• Quelling Palestine protest was an ‘unrealistic’ task, says Met – The Times

Comment:

• Pious Palestine Action activists are nothing like the suffragettes – Brendan O’Neill, Daily Telegraph
• Palestine Action just offered the UK a masterclass in how to score an own-goal – Angela Epstein, Daily Express
• Palestine Action ban risks furthering its squalid agenda – The Times View
• In using terror laws to pursue the deluded protesters of Palestine Action, Yvette Cooper is the real extremist – Stephen Glover, Daily Mail
• The logistical challenge of Palestine Action – Telegraph View

News in brief:

• Rural England won’t save the Conservatives – Tom Jones, Unherd
• The authorities do not want to fix lawless London – James Graham, The Critic
• Inside Labour students’ revolt over Gaza – Hattie Simpson, The New Statesman