All posts tagged: Priti Patel

Labour ‘hiding facts’ on civil servants at Iranian embassy celebration | Politics | News

Labour ‘hiding facts’ on civil servants at Iranian embassy celebration | Politics | News

Labour is accused of covering up details about Government officials attending an Iranian embassy event to mark the anniversary of the 1979 revolution despite the regime slaughtering thousands of protesters. Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel is angered the Foreign Office has refused to disclose the rank and number of officials who attended the event. She has also demanded answers about whether the taxpayer-funded staff raised concerns about the “slaughter of civilians” at the embassy gathering on February 12. The Government’s own assessment of the killings in Iran states: “The estimated number of deaths, predominantly of protesters, numbered between approximately 12,000 and 20,000 by mid-January 2026.” Dame Priti told the Sunday Express: “It is outrageous that officials attended an event celebrating the Iranian revolution just weeks after the regime slaughtered tens of thousands of brave protesters. The least Labour could do is apologise and explain how this was allowed to happen. Instead, they have stonewalled our questions and tried to keep the facts hidden. As usual with Labour, they are running scared of scrutiny. The …

Keir Starmer warned not to repeat Chagos fiasco in Cyprus | Politics | News

Keir Starmer warned not to repeat Chagos fiasco in Cyprus | Politics | News

Britain must not lose control of its military bases on Cyprus or risk a repeat of the Chagos Islands debacle, Sir Keir Starmer has been warned. The Government of Cyprus is reportedly preparing “at all levels” for negotiations on the future of the military bases on the island. This has triggered concerns Cyprus may seek its own version of the deal which saw the Labour Government agree to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back the UK-US Diego Garcia base. The Cyprus Mail reported government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis saying that “at the appropriate time and where and when there is something which can be announced, it will be announced”. Britain’s Akrotiri airbase was hit by a drone strike earlier this month. This triggered questions about the UK’s capacity to protect the bases as the US and Israeli strikes on Iran continue. Another spokesman for the Cypriot Government said earlier in the week that it has received legal advice on the treaty which underpins the British presence on the bases. Cyprus’s President …

Farage heads to Mar-a-Lago as Starmer-Trump relations plummet – POLITICO

Farage heads to Mar-a-Lago as Starmer-Trump relations plummet – POLITICO

“President Trump has almost understood the deal — almost — but I will be dining at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night and will reinforce the message, it was the worst deal in history,” Farage told a “Save Chagos” boat party in London on Thursday night. An itinerary for Farage’s visit has not been made public by his party, and it was not immediately clear who he would be dining with. Farage will be hoping to get face time with senior officials if not with Trump himself. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It comes in the week Starmer has felt the president’s fury over both war in Iran and the Chagos Islands agreement. The president belittled Starmer as being “no Winston Churchill” after the U.K. initially blocked the U.S. from striking Iran from some British bases.  Trump has also expressed his anger at the deal to hand sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius. Starmer argues his lease-back deal is the only way to secure the U.K.-U.S. military base on …

Trump blasts Starmer’s Chagos deal — hours after US backed it – POLITICO

Trump blasts Starmer’s Chagos deal — hours after US backed it – POLITICO

Under the arrangement, struck last year after months of negotiations, the joint U.S.-U.K. base will remain under the control of both countries for the next 99 years under a lease agreement. But Trump posted Wednesday: “I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is ‘claiming’ Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean.” The Mauritian government — which has long claimed it was forced to give up the Chagos Islands to make way for the base in the 1960s — will receive payments from the U.K. for the new set-up, and gains ultimate sovereignty over the former British imperial possession. While Trump on Wednesday nodded to a “strong and powerful” relationship with the U.K., he warned Starmer “is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before.” “In our opinion, they are fictitious …