Donald Trump has urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to proceed with the UK deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, describing it as a 'big mistake'. In a post on Truth Social, the US president said Starmer was 'losing control' of the strategically important Diego Garcia island, which hosts a joint UK-US military base.
Trump's intervention comes just a day after the US State Department officially backed the agreement, and follows his earlier comment that the deal was the 'best' Starmer could make. However, on Wednesday he warned that the 99-year lease arrangement was 'tenuous' and that the land 'should not be taken away from the UK'. He also raised the possibility of using Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford in action against Iran if necessary.
UK shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel called the episode an 'utter humiliation' for Starmer, while Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said Trump's flip-flopping showed the approach was 'doomed to fail'. A Foreign Office spokesperson defended the deal, saying it was 'the only way to guarantee the long-term future of this vital military base'.
Separately, British authorities have issued removal orders against four Chagossians who landed on the remote Île du Coin atoll this week, in an apparent attempt to challenge the sovereignty transfer. The orders warn of up to three years' imprisonment and a £3,000 fine for breaching them. Some Chagossians oppose the deal, accusing Mauritius of neglect, while others seek the right to return to their homeland.
