Category Archives: chagos

Trump Changes His Mind On Starmer’s Chagos Deal Again, Calling It A ‘Blight’ On The UK

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Donald Trump has attacked Keir Starmer’s Chagos deal once again, describing it as a “big mistake” and a “blight” on the UK.

The UK government announced last year that it was going to pay Mauritius £9 billion over the next 99 years so the UK-US military base at Diego Garcia will continue to operate as it does at the moment.

The US president initially seemed in favour of the deal but, at the height of his row with Europe over the sovereignty of Greenland in January, he changed his mind.

He accused Britain of giving away the “vital US military base” for “NO REASON WHATSOEVER”.

He then backtracked just two weeks ago, after a phone call with the prime minister, describing it as the best deal Starmer “could make”, though he warned that the US retains “the right to militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia”.

The US did give its official backing to the UK’s plan to cede sovereignty of the territory only on Tuesday.

However, Trump has just changed his mind again, writing on TruthSocial that he has told Starmer “leases are no good when it comes to countries”.

He claimed to have warned the PM that “he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 year lease”.

He added: “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 suggested the US might need the archipelago if Iran does not agree to a new nuclear deal.

The president concluded: “We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the UK, but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism.”

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.”

Talks between the US and Mauritius are scheduled for next week.

Read Trump’s full message below:

I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is “claiming” Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean. 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. Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order 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. This land should not be taken away from the U.K. 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 U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them. DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!

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.

“When you see it on Truth Social you know it’s directly from President Trump, that’s the beauty of this president in his transparency and relaying this administration’s policies.”

Tory shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said these remarks will be an “utter humiliation” for Starmer.

She said: “It’s time Starmer finally saw sense, U-turned and scrapped this appalling deal altogether.”

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey wrote on X: “Trump’s endless flip-flopping on the Chagos Islands shows why Starmer’s approach is doomed to fail.

“Britain can’t rely on the US while Trump is in the White House. It’s time to strengthen our ties with allies we can depend on, starting with our neighbours in Europe.”

Reform’s Nigel Farage also said: “Thank goodness Trump has vetoed the surrender of the Chagos islands.”

Four people who live on the Chagos island also set up camp on the archipelago’s remote atoll this week to protest the deal.

They refused to leave, despite facing eviction threats from the UK maritime patrol.

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Donald Trump Rows Back Criticism On Keir Starmer’s Chagos Deal

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Donald Trump has now backed Keir Starmer’s Chagos deal once again just weeks after attacking it.

The UK government announced last year that it was going to pay Mauritius £9 billion over the next 99 years so the UK-US military base at Diego Garcia will continue to operate as it does at the moment.

At the height of his row with Europe over control of Greenland last month, the US president accused the UK of giving away the site of “vital US military base” for “NO REASON WHATSOEVER” – despite appearing to be content with the deal at the end of 2025.

But, after a phone call with the prime minister on Thursday, Trump U-turned again, and now seems much more at ease with the plan.

In a post on TruthSocial, he wrote: “I understand that the deal prime minister Starmer has made, according to many, the best he could make.

“However, if the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart of anyone threatens or endangers US operations and forces at our base, I retain the right to militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia.

“Let it be known that I will never allow our presence on a base as important as this to ever be undermined or threatened by fake claims or environmental nonsense.

“Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The prime minister reportedly spoke to Trump about the “importance of the deal to secure the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia, which remains vital to shared security interests”.

The two leaders agreed that the UK and US “will continue to work closely on the implementation of the deal”, according to Downing Street’s readout of the call.

No.10 will be breathing a huge sigh of relief at the president’s latest change of heart, considering Trump had condemned Starmer’s decision to give up the islands as “an act of great stupidity” in January.

The president said: “There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”

He added: “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.”

The outburst stunned the Westminster at the time and there were concerns about the future of the so-called “special relationship” between the US and UK.

But, unlike the European Union, Starmer ruled out imposing retaliatory tariffs on America, even if Trump went ahead with his threat to slap 10% import charges on British goods from February 1.

And, once Trump had supposedly worked up a “framework of a future deal” with Nato over Greenland, he dropped the tariff threat.

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Trump’s Team Is ‘Outright Hostile’ Towards UK’s Chagos Islands Deal, Farage Says

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Nigel Farage has claimed Donald Trump’s incoming administration has “outright hostility” towards the UK’s deal to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius.

Labour arranged to give up sovereignty over the archipelago, which contains a UK-US military base, last month, after holding it for more than 50 years.

It was praised by outgoing US president Joe Biden at the time as a “historic agreement”.

But, according to Reform UK leader and close Trump ally Farage, the next administration has a different take.

In the Commons on Wednesday afternoon, Farage said: “I can assure you, having been in America last week, knowing also the incoming defence secretary [Pete Hegseth] very well, there is outright hostility to this deal.

“Whatever is said about a lease agreement, as we saw with Hong Kong, these agreements can very, very easily be broken.

“Diego Garcia [where the military base is] was described to me by a senior Trump adviser as the most important island on the planet as far as America was concerned.”

Farage claimed: “There is no basis for this agreement to continue what it is, and if you do, you will be at conflict with a country without which we would be defenceless.”

He added that there was “no legal reason” why the UK had to give sovereignty of Chagos to Mauritius, as the International Court of Justice’s ruling – saying the islands should change hands – was only advisory.

The Reform leader also claimed that Chagossian people “do not wish to live under Mauritian rule”.

When the deal was first struck, critics said it was a strategic error because of the islands’ location in the Indian Ocean.

They expressed fears it would put other contested territories like Gibraltar and Falkland Islands under threat.

The Independent also reported on Wednesday that the Trump transition team has requested legal advice from the Pentagon over the agreement.

US government sources allegedly told the newspaper Trump might veto the deal – not to set to take place until after the president-elect’s inauguration – over global security fears.

However, Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty told Farage in the Commons that he “fundamentally disagrees” with his claims about US attitudes to the deal.

He said: “This government inherited a situation where the long-term secure operation of this crucial military base [Diego Garcia] was under threat.

“International courts were reaching judgments. International organisations were taking steps not to undermine Mauritian sovereignty, and this threatened the secure and effective operation of the base.

“And, in the absence of a negotiated solution, a legally binding decision against the UK seemed inevitable. This would have threatened the secure and effective operation of the base and that was not sustainable.”

He added that when the Trump administration have been fully briefed, he was “confident that the details of this arrangement will allay any concerns”.

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