How much does a sell-out cost? Mr S has been trying for months now to work out what the Chagos deal will mean for British taxpayers. The Financial Times originally reported an estimated total bill of £9bn – before the Mauritian prime minister suggested last week the sum would be much higher. With a sum of £18bn now being quoted by some outlets, Steerpike wants to know which government department will be footing the costs of the 99-year deal?
When it comes to figures, the obvious place to start is the Treasury – Whitehall’s ‘central department’ to use Nigel Lawson’s phrase. A written question was put to Rachel Reeves, asking if the Chancellor’s department had ‘made a value for money assessment of the Chagos Island deal’. But according to Darren Jones, the answer is, er, no. His answer is as follows:
HMT has been working with the FCDO and the MOD on this agreement. As the lead departments, responsibility for judging the value for money of any deal sits with the FCDO and the MOD, who must balance its commitments against wider priorities – as per the Managing Public Money framework.
So the can of worms is passed on to other departments then. Mark Francois, the Shadow Armed Forces Minister, told Mr S:
The Treasury’s reply confirms that even they don’t know which government department – the FCDO or the MOD – would be expected to carry the £18 billion burden of the benighted Chagos deal. For the FCDO it would dwarf its budget while for the MoD it would drive a coach and horses through the Strategic Defence Review. Either way, it’s both a strategic and financial disaster and the sooner they drop it, perhaps with a strong nudge from Washington, the better.
Further written questions are now being submitted to both departments. Will the great British public actually know who is fitting this bill, before they start paying the costs?
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