Mauritius has vowed to pursue all diplomatic and legal avenues to regain control of the Chagos Islands after the UK government shelved legislation to hand over the territory. Dhananjay Ramful, the Mauritian foreign minister, said his government would 'spare no effort' to complete what he called the decolonisation process, describing it as 'a matter of justice'. The remarks came after Keir Starmer was forced to drop the planned handover due to a lack of US support.
The UK government acknowledged on Friday that it had run out of time to pass the necessary legislation within the current parliamentary session. The deal, which would have seen Britain cede sovereignty to Mauritius in exchange for a 99-year lease of the Diego Garcia military base, had been agreed under the previous US administration. However, Donald Trump reportedly told Starmer he was 'making a big mistake', and the US failed to formally exchange letters amending a 1966 treaty.
A new bill is not expected in the King's Speech in May. The Chagos Islands, officially the British Indian Ocean Territory, have been under UK control since the 19th century. In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled that the UK had unlawfully separated the islands from Mauritius before independence in 1968, after which islanders were forcibly deported to make way for the US-UK base.
A government spokesperson insisted that ensuring the long-term operational security of Diego Garcia remained the priority, adding that the agreement was still considered the best way to protect the base's future. Simon McDonald, a former Foreign Office permanent under-secretary, said the government had 'no other choice' but to halt the deal given US hostility.
Mauritian Attorney General Gavin Glover said the outcome was unsurprising, blaming strained US-UK relations. He noted that Mauritius plans to meet the British government on 22 April to discuss the Chagos deal. Health Secretary Wes Streeting denied the deal was dead, saying there was still understanding for the UK's objectives within the US administration.
