Prime Minister Keir Starmer has insisted that the United Kingdom’s agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius remains on track, despite renewed criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump and growing political unease on both sides of the Atlantic.
The deal, approved last year by London and Port Louis, would see the UK cede sovereignty while leasing back the strategically significant island of Diego Garcia for 99 years to continue joint military operations with the United States.
Starmer made his remarks while travelling to Beijing, emphasizing continuity in U.S. institutional support even as presidential rhetoric has turned sharply critical.
Starmer said U.S. intelligence and defense agencies had conducted a three-month review of the agreement after the Trump administration took office and had expressed clear backing for the deal.
He said the review concluded that the agreement strengthened U.S. and UK security interests and safeguarded the long-term future of the Diego Garcia base.
Trump, however, last week described the handover as “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY” in social media posts that also linked the issue to his calls for the United States to acquire Greenland.
Downing Street sources said they had received no formal indication from the U.S. State Department or intelligence agencies that Washington’s position had changed.
British officials believe Trump’s comments were linked to broader geopolitical messaging rather than a substantive reversal of U.S. policy.
The renewed controversy has delayed parliamentary progress on legislation required to implement the deal, with a House of Lords debate postponed amid ongoing discussions with Washington.
Officials have also acknowledged that a 1966 UK-U.S. treaty governing Diego Garcia would need to be updated, a process that has raised concerns among opposition parties about potential U.S. leverage.
The Labour government argues the agreement is necessary to prevent legal uncertainty following a United Nations court ruling that found the UK lacked sovereignty over the islands.
Conservative and Reform UK figures have criticized the deal, citing Mauritius’s ties with China and warning of national security risks.
China abstained during a key United Nations vote related to the process, while British officials have argued the agreement limits opportunities for rival powers to exploit legal disputes over the territory.