The UK government has been forced to abandon plans to pass legislation transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after the United States withdrew its support for the deal. Officials acknowledged on Friday that time had run out within the current parliamentary session, which ends in the coming weeks.
The setback marks a deterioration in US-UK relations, following Donald Trump’s criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the Iran conflict. A government spokesperson stressed that Diego Garcia remains a key strategic asset and that the deal's purpose was to secure the long-term future of the joint US-UK military base. “We would only proceed with the deal if it has US support,” the spokesperson said.
Trump had previously called the plan a “big mistake”, though he endorsed it during Starmer’s White House visit last year. Under the proposed agreement, the UK would cede sovereignty to Mauritius while leasing Diego Garcia for 99 years. The US had not formally exchanged letters to amend a 1966 treaty, forcing the UK to drop the bill. A new Chagos bill is not expected in the King’s Speech in May.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the delay “another damning indictment” of Starmer, while former Foreign Office permanent secretary Simon McDonald said the government had “no other choice” but to halt the deal. The Chagos Islands, known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, have been under UK control since the 19th century. In 2019, the International Court of Justice ruled the UK unlawfully separated the islands from Mauritius before its independence in 1968.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed the news, urging the government to help Chagossians resettle. Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller described the handling as “shambolic”. The Guardian reported in February that Trump reversed his support after the UK refused to allow its airbases to be used for a pre-emptive US strike on Iran. Last month, Iran launched missiles at Diego Garcia after warning of British lives at risk.
