Keir Starmer has said US intelligence agencies disagree with Donald Trump's opposition to the Chagos Islands deal, as he insisted the agreement is a 'done deal' that will not be scuppered by the US president. Speaking on a flight to Beijing, the prime minister noted that the Trump administration had supported the deal after a three-month review at agency level, with clear statements of backing from the defence secretary, Marco Rubio, and Trump himself.
Downing Street sources told the Guardian the agreement, formally approved by Starmer and his Mauritian counterpart last May, is final. They said the UK had heard nothing from the US State Department or intelligence agencies to suggest a change of mind, despite Trump's fiery rhetoric. The sources suggested Trump's apparent U-turn was linked to his attempts to acquire Greenland, not a genuine shift on Chagos.
Trump last week called the deal an 'act of great stupidity' and claimed it showed weakness, linking it to his desire to take over Greenland. He wrote on social media that the UK was giving away Diego Garcia, site of a vital US military base, 'for no reason whatsoever', and that China and Russia had noticed this 'act of total weakness'. The comments blindsided Downing Street, which had thought the deal was settled.
Starmer, asked if he trusted Trump to honour his earlier backing, said the US had conducted a detailed agency-level review before concluding they supported the deal 'in very clear terms'. He added that the issue had been discussed with the White House repeatedly. The next stage of the bill on the handover has been delayed in the House of Lords, with Downing Street citing ongoing discussions with the US.
The Labour government agreed in October 2024 to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, with a 99-year lease of Diego Garcia for the UK-US military base, at a projected cost of £3.4bn. British officials say the deal was agreed under pressure from Washington, which was concerned about the base's future if Mauritius won a case at the International Court of Justice.
