The UK is currently working to address concerns with Donald Trump regarding the Chagos Islands agreement, according to a senior minister. Health Secretary Wes Streeting acknowledged a change in the US stance after initial approval. Trump had previously endorsed the deal but later criticized it as “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY.”
Due to the lack of formal approval from the US and limited time before the parliamentary session ends, the UK has postponed the plans. A new Chagos bill is not anticipated in the upcoming King’s Speech, although officials maintain that the deal has not been completely abandoned.
Streeting clarified that the deal is not “dead,” emphasizing the ongoing process in the US and the shared British and American interests in securing the Chagos Islands long-term. The proposed agreement involved transferring sovereignty of the islands, including the strategically vital UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, to Mauritius, with the UK leasing back the base at an average annual cost of £101 million.
Opponents of the deal, such as Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, have been urging the Government to scrap it. Responding to critics, Streeting highlighted what he deemed as hypocrisy from the Conservatives and criticized Farage’s actions.
The Conservative Party and Reform UK welcomed the shelving of the deal. Former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Simon McDonald explained that the government had to halt the deal due to the openly hostile stance of the US president, emphasizing the need to comply with international law and strengthen ties with the United States.
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