Labour's Chagos surrender descended into farce as a minister admitted it was on hold before he was slapped down by his own department.
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer twice assured the Commons that the Government was 'pausing' Parliament's consideration of its controversial deal to hand the British overseas territory to China ally Mauritius.
He admitted that Donald Trump's intervention last week – warning Sir Keir Starmer it would be a 'big mistake' for him to lose control of the crucial US-UK military base on Diego Garcia – had led to officials scrambling to hold crisis talks with their counterparts in Washington.
'There clearly has been a statement from the President of the United States more recently that is very significant, and we are now discussing those concerns with the United States directly,' Mr Falconer told MPs on Wednesday.
'We have a process going through Parliament in relation to the treaty. We will bring that back to Parliament at the appropriate time. We are pausing for discussions with our American counterparts.'
But just two hours later Government sources were briefing that Mr Falconer, who also told MPs he could not answer detailed questions on the saga as he said his brief covered the Middle East, had 'mis-spoken'.
And soon afterwards the Foreign Office itself confirmed the latest chaotic backtrack, saying in an official statement: 'There is no pause. We have never set a deadline. Timings will be announced in the usual way.
'We are continuing discussions with the US and we have been clear we will not proceed without their support.'
Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer admitted the Government was 'pausing' Parliament's consideration of the Chagos treaty but was contradicted by his own department
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage attempted to reach the Chagos islands last week
The PM is now being urged to end the uncertainty and axe the deal – under which the UK will hand Mauritius £35billion to secure the use of the military base for 99 years – completely after President Trump withdrew his support for a second time.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel said: 'Labour's Chagos surrender has descended into a farce. The unprofessional conduct of ministers shows they don't even know what's going on with their own legislation.
'This is a total embarrassment not just for the Government but for our country on the international stage. Not only are Labour pursuing a terrible deal - handing over our sovereign territory and taxpayers cash to China - they are doing it in the most incompetent manner imaginable.
'While I am in Washington I will be relentlessly making the case for this deal to be ditched once and for all. The Conservatives will continue to fight Starmer's surrender every step of the way.'
She held talks with senior figures in the US administration and politicians as part of a long-running Tory effort to lobby the White House against the Chagos handover.
Sources said that many people raised concerns about Labour making Britain a less reliable ally including Sir Keir stopping the US using UK military bases for potential strikes on Iran – the issue which is thought to have turned President Trump against the Chagos deal last week.
'We've been asked repeatedly how soon Labour can be got rid of,' a source said.
In another blow to the Government, Nigel Farage claimed that the Maldives will soon be staking its own claim to the Chagos Islands, as it believes it has closer links to the archipelago in the Indian Ocean than Mauritius does.
Reform UK's leader, who attempted to reach Chagos last week, said in the Commons debate: 'I wish to inform the Government that, in my opinion, we are just a few days away from the Maldives issuing a counterclaim in the International Court of Justice to say that if anybody has the right to the sovereignty of those islands, it is the Maldives and not Mauritius.'
In Prime Minister's Questions he had raised the case of the exiled islanders who had returned to their homeland last week but now face being removed by the UK government, asking Sir Keir: 'This Government are full of human rights lawyers, within and without; why do the opinions and human rights of indigenous Chagossians not matter to him at all?'
The British Indian Ocean Territory Supreme Court will on Thursday consider whether or not the group, who landed on the atoll of Peros Banhos last week, can be lawfully removed or not.
Misley Mandarin, the Chagossian First Minister who is on the island, said: 'Thanks to the valiant efforts of supporters of the Chagossian cause, and the vital intercession of President Trump he [Sir Keir] has been forced to reconsider his ill-considered treaty with Mauritius.
'Any change to the status of the Chagos Islands must respect the wishes and self-determination of the Chagossian people.'
