MAURITIUS has been accused of demanding “crazy” money in diplomatic negotiations with the UK over the future of the Chagos Islands.
Talks over relinquishing sovereignty and a 99-year lease for the Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean are holding up a deal.
But it’s understood new leader Navin Ramgoolam wants up to £800million a year and reparations.
A source told The Sunday Times: “They want crazy money .
“They were talking £800million a year for as long as we wanted to keep the base there, plus billions of pounds in reparations.”
The revelation comes as the new leader Navin Ramgoolam told the US last week that he wouldn’t accept a deal signed by his predecessor in October.
One British source added: “It is all about the money”.
The deal has huge implications for global security with the rise of China and India in the region in the coming generations.
The Mauritius leader said that the UK is keen to complete the deal before Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel told MPs before Christmas that the government was “letting our standing go into freefall” in an increasingly dangerous world.
She said: “How much is the British taxpayer going to be liable for each year, and in total over 99 years?”
The Foreign Office has distanced itself from reports Mauritius wants the eye-watering sums.
A spokesman said: “These figures are completely inaccurate.”
