President Donald Trump has sharply criticised Keir Starmer’s plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, describing the agreement as an “act of stupidity” and signalling growing opposition to the deal within his administration.
Speaking on Tuesday morning, the US president said the proposed handover of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which hosts the strategically important joint US–UK military base on Diego Garcia, had been agreed “for no reason whatsoever”.
Mr Trump linked the Chagos agreement to his broader argument that the United States should take control of Greenland, a demand that has already strained relations between Washington and several Nato allies, including the UK.
His remarks followed a series of AI-generated images posted on his Truth Social platform, depicting a hypothetical US takeover of Greenland and Canada. The images showed Mr Trump alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance planting an American flag on Greenland, as well as a map in the Oval Office showing Canada, Greenland and Venezuela as US territory.
At a subsequent White House press conference, Mr Trump suggested he opposed the Chagos deal in its current form.
“I think that they, you know, when they originally were going to do it, they were talking about doing some concept of ownership, but now they’re looking to essentially just do a lease and sell it. And I’m against that,” he said.
Sir Keir signed the agreement with Mauritius last May, arguing that it was the only way to protect the Diego Garcia military base from legal challenge and from the influence of hostile powers such as China. Mr Trump initially welcomed the deal last year, saying it could “work out very well”, but added that he needed to see the full details. Mr Rubio has since raised concerns about the agreement.
Critics argue that Mauritius’s close relationship with Beijing poses a security risk, warning that China could gain influence or intelligence access near the base. Under the deal, the UK would hand over sovereignty of the archipelago while leasing back Diego Garcia for up to 99 years at a cost expected to exceed £30 billion.
The Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday as MPs debated amendments made by the House of Lords. Those amendments would have required the Government to publish the full real-terms cost of the agreement, introduced annual parliamentary approval of payments to Mauritius, and required payments to cease if the base became inoperable.
Three Labour MPs rebelled against the Government during the votes. Graham Stringer and Peter Lamb, both of whom had previously criticised the deal, voted with opponents of the handover. Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill, also voted against the Government on one of the amendments.
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Stringer said Mr Trump’s withdrawal of support provided “the case for a pause” in proceeding with the agreement.
However, Stephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, insisted that “the circumstances have not changed” despite the US president’s comments.
“We will of course have discussions with the administration in the coming days to remind them of the strength of this deal, how it secures the base for the UK and the US,” Mr Doughty told MPs.
The Bill will now return to the House of Lords on Monday, where Conservative peers are expected to seek further amendments. Conservative sources said peers would attempt to delay the legislation through parliamentary “ping pong” in light of the US president’s intervention.
Downing Street defended the agreement, saying it had been welcomed by the White House and other allies. A Government spokesman said the UK had acted because previous court decisions had undermined its position and threatened the future operation of the base.
“The UK will never compromise on our national security,” the spokesman said. “This deal secures the operations of the joint US–UK base on Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.”
Opposition leaders have seized on Mr Trump’s remarks. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said paying to surrender the islands was “an act of complete self-sabotage” that weakened UK and Nato security.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK and a close associate of Mr Trump, has also criticised the agreement. Responding to the president’s comments, he said the Chagos deal had “sunk below the waterline”.
Mr Trump said he had not spoken to Sir Keir or to Emmanuel Macron since making his remarks but added: “I think I get along very well with them. They’ve got to straighten out their countries.”
The president’s comments came a day after Sir Keir warned that Britain could suffer “huge damage” from proposed US tariffs linked to the Greenland dispute. Mr Trump has threatened a ten per cent tariff on exports from the UK and other Nato allies, rising to 25 per cent, unless the US is permitted to acquire Greenland, a proposal rejected by Denmark and Greenland’s government.
Despite defending the UK–US relationship as vital to Britain’s economic and security interests, the Prime Minister issued a rare public rebuke to Mr Trump, insisting that Greenland’s future was for Greenland and Denmark to decide.
Sir Keir is now facing renewed pressure to reconsider the Chagos agreement as the legislation continues its passage through Parliament amid mounting international and domestic opposition.
