PMQs live: Starmer condemns Badenoch’s criticism of Chagos deal and says Tory leader did not even ask for briefing on it | Politics
Starmer suggests Badenoch has missed chance to have private, national security briefing on Chagos Islands issue
Kemi Badenoch says:
When Labour negotiates, our country loses.
Yesterday it was reported the Chagos deal would cost £18bn. She says this is money that belongs to us and our children. It is so north London lawyers can boast at dinner parties.
Why did the energy secretary stop fighting the Rosebank case.
Starmer says Diego Garcia is “vital for our national security”.
But the legal certainty was thrown into doubt some years ago.
He goes on:
Let me be clear, and I’ll pick my words carefully. Without legal certainty, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should.
That is bad for national security, and is a gift to our adversaries.
Some within the party opposite know exactly what I am talking about.
That is why the last government started negotiations.
Starmer says, if Badenoch is “properly briefed” on the national security aspects, she will know what is is talking about.
If Badenoch is not properly briefed, she is not fit to be PM.
(Starmer seemed to be alluding to a recent report saying Badenoch missed a recent national security briefing – although that was about the Southport killings.)
Key events
Badenoch says 200,000 jobs in the energy sector at at risk.
Starmer says Badenoch needs to check how energy licences are granted. He says she is not being briefed on the relevant issues. He says the Tories presided over the worst fall in living standards on record.
Badenoch says it is hard to believe anything Starmer said. He needed emergency voice coaching on Christmas Eve, she says.
This government is so clueless it is borrowing £8bn pounds. It is so clueless it is borrowing £8bn pounds for GB energy, a vanity project that is not great, not British, and does not produce any energy.
She says it won’t produce 1,000 jobs.
Starmer says Badenoch has not been briefed on Great British Energy. What matters is not the jobs in HQ, but the jobs it creates in the industry.
Badenoch says last week Labour lost the AstraZeneca investment, on the same day the Rosebank investment was put in jeopardy. She says:
Business is abandoning the North Sea because of his decisions. What signal does he think he is sending to investors?
Starmer accuses Badenoch of talking the country down.
Badenoch asks again about Rosebank. Starmer accuses her of playing student politics.
Badenoch asks if donations from eco-zealots had an influence on the government’s decision not to defend the Rosebank decison.
Starmer says he offered her briefings on any topic she wanted. He says, again, she should have asked about the Chagos Islands.
Starmer suggests Badenoch has missed chance to have private, national security briefing on Chagos Islands issue
Kemi Badenoch says:
When Labour negotiates, our country loses.
Yesterday it was reported the Chagos deal would cost £18bn. She says this is money that belongs to us and our children. It is so north London lawyers can boast at dinner parties.
Why did the energy secretary stop fighting the Rosebank case.
Starmer says Diego Garcia is “vital for our national security”.
But the legal certainty was thrown into doubt some years ago.
He goes on:
Let me be clear, and I’ll pick my words carefully. Without legal certainty, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should.
That is bad for national security, and is a gift to our adversaries.
Some within the party opposite know exactly what I am talking about.
That is why the last government started negotiations.
Starmer says, if Badenoch is “properly briefed” on the national security aspects, she will know what is is talking about.
If Badenoch is not properly briefed, she is not fit to be PM.
(Starmer seemed to be alluding to a recent report saying Badenoch missed a recent national security briefing – although that was about the Southport killings.)
Yasmin Qureshi (Lab) asks about the rail services in her Bolton constituency.
Starmer says the Tories left the railways in a terrible state. “You cannot grow the economy if you can’t grow the railways,” he says.
Neil Hudson (Con) asks about the “three dads walking” campaigners for better suicide prevention measures.
Starmer says this is a really important issue. He says he has met the three dads, and he praises them for their work.
Keir Starmer starts by saying MPs will be appalled by the knife crime killing of a boy in Nottingham.
And he says he met EU leaders on Monday to discuss how they could make the post-Brexit relationship work better.
After PMQs there will be an urgent question on the Chagos Islands. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has tabled it. A Foreign Office minister will reply.
