UK defends Chagos Islands deal after Trump calls handover ‘act of great stupidity’

The UK government has defended a deal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base, following criticism from US President Donald Trump of the handling of that deal.

Trump called the move “an act of gross stupidity” and “utter weakness” in a post on social media, months after he and senior US officials confirmed it.

In response, the UK government said it would “never compromise on our national security”, while the prime minister’s official spokesman insisted the US still supported the move.

Britain signed the £3.4 billion ($4.6 billion) deal in May, under which the UK will retain control. A UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands.

In a post on the Truth Social platform that morning, Trump said: “Astonishingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is now planning to give Diego Garcia Island, a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and is doing so WITHOUT ANY REASON.”

“There is no doubt that China and Russia recognized this act of complete weakness.”

He added: “The UK’s donation of hugely important land is an act of HUGE stupidity and a long list of National Security reasons why Greenland should be acquired.”

In response, the prime minister’s official spokesman said the United States supported the agreement and that “the president clearly recognized the power of the agreement last year.”

He added that the UK is also supported by its Five Eyes allies, whose other members include Canada, Australia and New Zealand – as well as the UK and US.

Asked whether he would categorically say that the Chagos agreement would go ahead even though it was still going through Parliament, the spokesman said: “Yes. Categorically our position has not changed.”

Earlier a UK government spokesman said it had taken action “because the base at Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and prevented it from operating as intended in the future”.

They added that the agreement secures the joint US-UK military base’s operations “for generations, with robust provisions that will keep its unique capabilities intact and keep our adversaries out,” and noted that the agreement was welcomed by allies, including the United States.

Asked about his stance on the deal at the White House later Tuesday, Trump said: “Originally when they were going to do this, they were talking about doing some kind of ownership concept, but now they’re actually looking at just renting and selling, and I’m against that.”

Stating that the Chagos Islands are “a very important part of the world”, he said: “I think they should protect them.”

“I don’t know why they’re doing this; do they need the money?” Trump added.

Gavin Glover, Mauritius’ attorney general, said he expected the deal to go ahead.

In a statement, he said it was “important to remember that the agreement was negotiated, concluded and signed solely between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Mauritius”.

He added: “The sovereignty of the Republic of Mauritius over the Chagos Archipelago is clearly recognized by international law and should no longer be subject to dispute.”

The agreement follows a long-running dispute between Britain and Mauritius, a former British colony, over sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius in 1965, when Mauritius was still a British colony. Britain bought the islands for £3 million, but Mauritius argued that it was illegally forced to give them away as part of a deal to gain independence.

According to the agreement reached in May last year, Britain will transfer sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius and retain control of the military base in Diego Garcia.

It will lease back Diego Garcia for 99 years at an average annual cost of £101 million. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said this was necessary to protect the base from “bad influences”.

Before signing the deal, Britain offered Trump an effective veto because of its implications for US security.

The president’s allies criticized the plan, but after a while Meeting with Sir Keir in the Oval Office “I think we’re going to agree with your country,” Trump said last February.

After the agreement was signed in May, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in his statement: Washington “welcomed” the agreement.

He said this ensured the long-term, stable and effective operation of the joint US-UK military facility in Diego Garcia, which he described as “a critical asset for regional and global security”.

“President Trump expressed his support for this monumental achievement during his meeting with Prime Minister Starmer at the White House,” Rubio added.

a government bill Implementation of the agreement between the UK and Mauritian governments is currently in its final stages.

On Tuesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said in a post on channel X that the prime minister now had “the chance to change course on Chagos”.

He said that “paying to surrender the Chagos Islands was not only an act of stupidity, but also complete self-sabotage.”

British Reform Leader Nigel Farage, who has been criticizing the agreement for a long time, said in his post on X: “Thank goodness Trump vetoed the surrender of the Chagos Islands.”

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said Trump’s comments showed Sir Keir’s approach to the US president had “failed”.

“The Chagos Accord was sold as proof that the government could work with it, now it is falling apart,” Davey said in a post on X.

“It’s time for the government to stand up to Trump; appeasing a tyrant never works.”

Labor Party MP and Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emily Thornberry told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the UK should take Trump “seriously”, but should not take his comments “literally”.

He called Tuesday’s comments an example of “presidential trolling” and said he was “in favor of staying calm and trying to sit it out.”

Two British Chagossian women born in Diego Garcia – Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe – want the right to return to their birthplace and say they were not included in discussions about the agreement.

Pompe told the BBC he viewed the US president’s criticism of the deal as “a good thing” but “just talk”.

Dugasse said via WhatsApp: “I want the deal to stop. [see] money [given] To the government of Mauritius.”

He said the Chagossians should be allowed “to sit at the table and decide our future.”

Additional reporting by Alice Cuddy