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Ongoing discussions with the United States regarding a controversial agreement to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius are underway, according to the prime minister, amid concerns that the US could potentially withdraw its support for the accord.
The proposed agreement, initially backed by the US last year, would see the UK cede sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, while retaining a lease for a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.
Government ministers maintain that the deal is essential to safeguard the base from “malign interests.” However, President Trump recently characterized the arrangement as “an act of great stupidity.”
The Conservative party has accused the government of compromising national security, citing Mauritius’s close ties to China as a primary concern.
Speaking to reporters en route to Beijing, Sir Keir Starmer stated that he had discussed the matter with Donald Trump “a number of times” and that it had been “raised with the White House at the tail end of last week, over the weekend and into the early part of this week”.
The prime minister noted that the Trump administration was granted three months to review the deal last year, ultimately concluding that it “was a deal they wanted to support, did support and did so in very clear terms,” following an assessment by US intelligence agencies.
Doubts surrounding US support emerged last week when President Trump voiced his opposition to the deal on social media.
In response, Downing Street asserted its belief that the US remained supportive of the agreement, despite the president’s public comments.
Sources close to Sir Keir Starmer suggested that President Trump was using the issue to exert pressure on the UK regarding the Greenland dispute, rather than fundamentally altering his stance on the Chagos Islands.
However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent subsequently criticized the deal, accusing the UK of “letting us down” by relinquishing sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius.
Officials within the Foreign Office are reportedly more concerned by Secretary Bessent’s remarks than by President Trump’s social media activity. Downing Street has since refrained from reiterating its previous claim that the US unequivocally supports the agreement.
While no official communication from the US regarding a change in position on the Chagos deal has been received, concerns are mounting within Whitehall that such a development could occur in the future.
The Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814, formally becoming an overseas territory in 1965. Mauritius, however, contends that it was coerced into relinquishing the islands.
In 2021, a United Nations court ruled that the UK lacked sovereignty over the islands, a decision that ultimately paved the way for negotiations regarding the current agreement.
The proposed deal would entail the UK leasing back Diego Garcia for a period of 99 years, at an estimated cost of £101 million annually.
Although the US initially agreed to the deal in May 2025, a source involved in those negotiations revealed that the Trump administration was “never enthusiastic” and “just decided then to go along with it.”
Last year, then-Foreign Secretary David Lammy asserted: “If President Trump doesn’t like the deal, the deal will not go forward.”
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty informed Members of Parliament on Monday that UK officials “remain engaged with the United States on a daily basis.”
Furthermore, it has emerged that a 1966 treaty signed by the US and the UK would require updating for the deal to proceed.
While government officials are withholding details regarding potential updates to the treaty, the Conservatives believe that it could effectively grant the US a veto over the entire agreement.
Foreign Office officials dispute this interpretation, but Minister Doughty declined to confirm in the House of Commons whether the UK could unilaterally update the treaty.
The source involved in UK-US negotiations stated that the 1966 treaty was not discussed during those talks.
They characterized the oversight as “the most monumental piece of incompetence.”
Parliamentary approval is also required for the deal to be finalized. However, a debate in the House of Lords was recently postponed due to concerns raised by the Conservatives regarding the 1966 treaty.
A government source indicated a desire for the matter to return to Parliament as soon as possible, but the timeline remains uncertain.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has stated that the deal is not in the best interests of either the UK or the US. She has reportedly discussed the matter with US Ambassador Warren Stephens and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson.
Reform UK also opposes the deal, with party sources indicating that Nigel Farage has personally engaged with President Trump, Scott Bessent, JD Vance, and other administration officials on the issue.
The Conservatives have voiced further concerns following Donald Trump’s description of the agreement as a “great act of stupidity”.
The legislation was scheduled for debate in the House of Lords on Monday.
The US president characterized the deal as “another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired”.
Trump has criticized the agreement, under which the UK retains control of the joint UK-US Diego Garcia military base.
The prime minister’s foreign policy has been predicated on maintaining a reputation as a reliable ally of the US president.
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