Trump slates Keir Starmer over Chagos Islands deal – in third U-turn on UK deal over Diego Garcia lease
Donald Trump has publicly rebuked prime minister Sir Keir Starmer over his plan to give up the Chagos Islands; This is yet another U-turn on the issue, just a day after the US president backed it.
Mr Trump warns UK leader that he ‘made a big mistake by going in’ [into] A 100-year lease agreement was signed with Mauritius on the islands that host the US-UK joint military base.
“Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control of Diego Garcia for any reason by entering into a temporary 100-Year lease at best,” the President wrote on the Truth Social platform.
“These lands must not be taken from the United Kingdom and if this is allowed it will be a disaster for our Great Ally. We will always be ready, willing and able to fight for the United Kingdom, but they must remain strong in the face of vigilance.”
He said he told Sir Keir that “leases are no good when it comes to countries.”
It was a dramatic change of stance just hours after the US government announced its support for the UK government’s deal.
Ministers had US backing for the Chagos deal last year, with the president even telling Sir Keir that “there is a feeling this will work out very well”.
But the US president’s first U-turn came last month, when he accused Sir Keir of “gross stupidity” for giving up control of the islands and associating the deal with his desire to annex Greenland for the US despite the objections of Denmark and the rest of NATO.
He then reversed course earlier this month, describing the agreement as “the best deal” the Labor leader could have made. Then on Tuesday, the US government gave official support to the UK plan.
Sir Keir plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a deal the UK government says is necessary to secure the future of the key UK-US Diego Garcia military base and keep Mauritius in control of the island on a 99-year lease.
Mr Trump has warned that Iran could attack Britain if it does not agree to limit its nuclear programme, and that the US would need the air base to “eliminate” such an attack.
He wrote: “If Iran decides not to make a deal, the US may need to use Diego Garcia and the airspace at Fairford to ward off a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime – an attack that could be made against the UK as well as other friendly countries.”
US and Iranian officials are locked in talks in Geneva regarding the country’s nuclear build-up.
The US leader also questioned the Chagossian people’s claim to the island.
He wrote: “Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and robust one and has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island due to claims by previously unknown entities which, in our opinion, are fictitious in nature.”
Asked whether the president’s latest Truth Social message represented a formal change in American policy, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the post “should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration.”
“It’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth,” he said. “When you see this on Truth Social, you know it comes directly from President Trump.”
The government says the future of the Diego Garcia base is threatened by recent international court rulings.
