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Donald Trump has urged Keir Starmer not to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius, warning he was “making a big mistake”.
Under the deal agreed last year, Britain would cede control over the British Indian Ocean Territory but lease the largest island, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating a joint US-UK military base there.
Earlier this month, Trump said the plan to hand the Chagos Islands back was the “best” deal Starmer could make, watering down his previous criticism. On Tuesday, the state department gave its official backing to the deal.
However, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday, the US president wrote: “Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but prime minister Starmer is losing control of this important island by claims of entities never known of before. In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature.”
Trump added that if Iran did not make a peace deal with the US, “it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia”, as well as RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, to “eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime – an attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly countries”.
“Prime minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100-year lease,” the US president continued.
“This land should not be taken away from the UK and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our great ally. We will always be ready, willing and able to fight for the UK, but they have to remain strong in the face of wokeism, and other problems put before them.”
Last month, the US president had described ceding sovereignty as an “act of great stupidity”.
His latest statement comes only a day after the US Department of State said it “supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago”.
When asked about Trump’s latest social media post on Wednesday evening, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “The post should be taken as the policy of the Trump administration. It’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth.”
The shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, said that Trump had “once again publicly rebuked Keir Starmer and his government over their ill-judged, unnecessary and expensive Chagos surrender. This is an utter humiliation for Starmer.”
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said Trump’s “flip-flopping” on the issue showed why Starmer’s approach was “doomed to fail”.
“Britain can’t rely on the US while Trump is in the White House,” he said. “It’s time to strengthen our ties with allies we can depend on, starting with our neighbours in Europe.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The deal to secure the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia military is crucial to the security of the UK and our key allies, and to keeping the British people safe.
“The agreement we have reached is the only way to guarantee the long-term future of this vital military base.”
On Wednesday, British authorities issued removal orders against four Chagossians who landed this week on a remote atoll in the Chagos Archipelago in an attempt to complicate British plans to transfer the territory.
The four landed on Monday on Île du Coin, part of the Peros Banhos atoll, with more expected to join them in what would be a permanent settlement.
The removal orders seen by Reuters, addressed to them individually, were issued by a British Indian Ocean Territory immigration official and stated they are unlawfully present in the territory and will be removed.
It warned that breaching the order by returning would be a criminal offence punishable with up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of £3,000 ($4,060).
The UK’s deal is opposed by some Chagossians, who accuse Mauritius of decades of neglect. Mauritius has denied the accusations.
Up to 2,000 Chagossians were forcibly removed from the archipelago in the 1960s and 1970s and resettled mainly in Mauritius and Britain, with many wanting the right to return to their homeland.
The UN committee on the elimination of racial discrimination has urged Britain and Mauritius not to ratify the 2025 agreement, saying it risks perpetuating historical rights violations.
On the protest, a spokesperson for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Tuesday: “The UK government recognises the importance of the islands to the Chagossian community and is working with Mauritius to resume a programme of heritage visits to the Chagos archipelago. This kind of illegal, unsafe stunt is not the way to achieve that.
“The vessel does not pose any security risk to Diego Garcia.”
