CONSERVATIVE
New Forest East

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – DIEGO GARCIA MILITARY BASE AND BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY BILL - 20 January 2026

FOREIGN AFFAIRS – DIEGO GARCIA MILITARY BASE AND BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY BILL - 20 January 2026

Sir Julian Lewis: Has my right hon. Friend noticed that the Minister [Stephen Doughty], who is, shall we say, a flexible friend in the cause of the Government’s policies, has been relying on the fact that, in the past, other Members of Donald Trump’s Government in America have been saying supportive things about the Bill? Would she like to cast a wager with the Minister, as I would, that 24 hours after Donald Trump changed his tune, the Government will change their tune in exactly the same direction?

[Priti Patel (Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs): If the Government wish to U-turn and scrap the Bill, we would welcome that and support it; there is no question about that. ...]