Donald Trump has urged Sir Keir Starmer not to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, warning he was 'making a big mistake' in a social media post that contradicted his earlier support for the deal. The US president’s volte-face came just a day after the State Department officially endorsed the agreement, which would cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory but lease Diego Garcia to the UK and US for 99 years.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that the Prime Minister was 'losing control of this important island by claims of entities never known of before', describing them as 'fictitious in nature'. He added that if Iran failed to make a peace deal, the US might need to use Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford to 'eradicate a potential attack' by Iran.
Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, insisted the post 'should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration'. 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, stating it was 'the only way to guarantee the long-term future of this vital military base'. Meanwhile, British authorities issued removal orders against four Chagossians who landed on Île du Coin in the Peros Banhos atoll, warning that returning could lead to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of £3,000.
The UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination has urged Britain and Mauritius not to ratify the 2025 agreement, saying it risks perpetuating historical rights violations.
