The Conservatives are planning a last-ditch attempt to block the Chagos Island deal over fears China will use it to spy on Britain.

Tory MPs plan to force a vote in the Commons in an attempt to call off the deal by holding up payments to Mauritius.

Concerns over espionage from China have heightened as a high-profile case against two men accused of spying for Beijing collapsed after the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the charges.

In a decision that has threatened to destabilise Downing Street, the CPS argued that the Government’s evidence no longer met the legal threshold for prosecution.

The Conservative Party, which was in Government when the case began, have accused Labour of being responsible for the collapse due to their relations with the Communist nation.

Jonathan Powell, a national security adviser and the architect of the Chagos deal, has been questioned over his decisions.

The Chagos Islands deal was signed in May 2025 between the United Kingdom and Mauritius, which transfers sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius.

Under the agreement, the UK will lease the largest island, Diego Garcia, for an initial 99 years to continue operating a joint UK-US military base, costing the British taxpayer as much as £47billion.

The base is said to have a significant impact on operations in the Middle East.

Mauritius, which has close ties to China, will hand over the remote Indian Ocean archipelago, which has been British territory for 200 years.

Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “Our spineless Prime Minister is kowtowing to China.

“He is so desperate for the CCP’s [Chinese Communist Party’s] approval, he is prepared to hand over his own country’s sovereignty – not to mention £40bn of taxpayers’ cash – to an ally of Beijing.”

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She told The Telegraph: “As usual, he is running scared of scrutiny. He can’t face being held to account over Chagos and China, because he knows his arguments don’t stand up.

“He thinks that by hiding behind the façade of international law, he can betray the British people and get away with it.

“But the Conservatives will always stand up for the national interest, and so we will resist Starmer’s Chagos-China Surrender Bill every step of the way.”

Widespread concerns have built over fears that China could exploit its close economic ties with Mauritius to gain access to the archipelago.

Diego Garcia is a submarine refuelling and resupply station and a hub for satellite communications in the region, making the island a significant strategic base for the British Navy.

If Beijing put a monitoring station on a neighbouring island, it would provide the eastern asian nation with access to British and US military activities.

The deal heads into its final stages in the Commons this week, allowing a chance for opposition parties to suggest amendments to the bill.

Such amendments could force MPs to vote on whether they send the payment to Mauritius every single year.

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