Defence secretary does not answer question about whether extra money announced for defence would include deal

John Healey, the defence secretary, has declined to say whether money to fund the Chagos Islands deal will come from the Ministry of Defence budget.

The government has agreed to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, on condition that the UK retains effective control over Diego Garcia, the site of a UK/US airbase, for at least 99 years. The UK will reportedly pay Mauritius £90m a year for the lease.

No. This is about our defence spending. It’s about our mainstream defence budget...As far as the Chagos Islands go, that’s a deal that’s in the pipeline. It’s not yet signed and not yet ratified in any treaty that will be necessary before parliament.