The Labour government has postponed plans to move forward with legislation next week that would transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after U.S. President Donald Trump again publicly condemned the agreement.
Officials in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration confirmed that the British Indian Ocean Territory (Sovereignty and Constitutional Arrangements) Bill will not return to the House of Lords next week as previously expected. A senior government source said ministers are taking time to reconsider the next steps in light of recent developments.
The proposed legislation would formalise a deal under which Mauritius would assume sovereignty over the Chagos archipelago. As part of the arrangement, the United Kingdom and the United States would retain access to the strategically significant military base on Diego Garcia through a long-term lease. British officials have argued the agreement would safeguard the base’s future while helping to resolve long-running legal and diplomatic disputes over the territory.
However, in previous posts President Trump has already said he will secure the base “no matter what.”
The bill had already been delayed last month after Trump sharply criticized the plan, calling it an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY.” His latest comments, posted on his Truth Social platform, renewed pressure on the U.K. government. Trump warned that leasing back Diego Garcia under Mauritian sovereignty would be a mistake and urged Britain not to “give away” the island. He suggested the base plays a critical role in maintaining regional security, including in relation to Iran.
The timing of the renewed delay is notable. The legislation had been expected to return to the upper chamber of Parliament after the U.S. State Department issued a statement earlier this week signaling support for the deal. However, Trump’s intervention has complicated the political landscape.
Within the U.K., opposition parties have also voiced strong objections. The Great British PAC together with Senior figures in the Conservative Party and Reform UK have been lobbying against the agreement, arguing it weakens Britain’s strategic position. There were concerns in government that a hostile amendment in the House of Lords could gain traction amid growing criticism.
Despite the pause, ministers insist they remain committed to the policy. Speaking to Sky News, U.K. minister Alex Davies-Jones said the government intends to reintroduce the bill when parliamentary time allows, describing the military base as a crucial national security asset.
No new date has been set for the legislation’s return to Parliament, leaving the future of the agreement temporarily uncertain as political debate continues on both sides of the Atlantic.
Chagossians land on the Chagos Islands
Meanwhile group of Chagos islanders has landed on the archipelago this week to establish a permanent settlement, more than 50 years after the population was evicted from the British colony.
The landing party, four strong, defied a British government exclusion zone to set foot on Île du Coin, part of the coral atoll of Peros Banhos, on Monday at 08.52 local time (02.52 GMT). They were led by Misley Mandarin, First Minister of what was, until that moment, the Chagossian government in exile.
Standing on the beach and looking back out at the Indian Ocean, he said that hundreds more Chagossians would soon follow. “Time is critical for us,” he said. He wanted to make it possible for the 322 people who were born on the island and who are still living today to come home before they die.
Mandarin arrived on the island with his father, Michel, one of those born on Chagos. Now aged 72, Michel was 14 at the time of the déraciné, or uprooting, put on to boats by the British colonial authorities. He remembered his family having to sleep on a neighbour’s floor after they were dumped on the quayside in Mauritius. He called on “every Chagossian” to return home “and live the way we used to live before the exile”.
Another member of the landing party, Antoine LeMettre, now 67, said that to feed his family after they arrived in Mauritius, he had been forced to scavenge for rotten vegetables discarded by the local market. “It was not only me,” he said. “Everyone from the Chagos Islands was suffering the same pain.”
First Minister Mandarin said he wanted to make it impossible for the British government to implement its plan to hand the territory to Mauritius. If Sir Keir Starmer had the “audacity” to remove the islanders now, he did not deserve to call himself a human rights lawyer, or to be prime minister of a “great country” like Britain. “We are British Chagossians. We are from this island. And we are here to stay.”
Mandarin added that Mauritius was an ally of China and could help the Chinese government to undermine the operations of the US base on Diego Garcia. As long as the Chagossians had a say, he went on, the US would keep the base. “We are in our homeland. We are not visitors. We belong here. God save the king. God save the United States of America.”
Accompanying the islanders is Adam Holloway, a former Member of Parliament, who helped the Chagossians raise funds for their new settlement, and who devised the plan for their return and the permanent settlement. Holloway, a former Army officer and ITN reporter, remains on the island to help build the settlement.
He said the deal to surrender the islands was “completely crazy” – it was “insanity” to give billions “to corrupt politicians in Mauritius rather than paying for our own defence”. He hoped that the return of the Chagossians – which he had helped to bring about — would give the Starmer government pause.
“We’ve done this because Britain is about to make a catastrophically stupid mistake. We are now in a world of great power play. The base at Diego Garcia is absolutely critical to the security of the West.”
Mandarin was brought up in Mauritius and left to join the British Army as a cook. More recently, he has been working as a bus driving instructor at Transport for London. He was elected First Minister in an independent poll of Chagossians held in December.
After setting foot on the islands, he issued a Declaration of Return. It is attached to this news release, along with Notes for Editors on the body of law underpinning the Chagossians’ right of self-determination.
Antoine LeMettre, speaking in creole: “I had to be the man of the house from the age of 12. I had to go to the market, to get old vegetables out of the bins to feed my family. It was not only me. Everyone from the Chagos Islands was suffering the same pain [in Mauritius] living in misery.”
Michel Mandarin, speaking in creole: “Mauritius was not easy. There were no jobs. We had to sleep on a neighbour’s floor because we did not have a house of our own. …So I say to every Chagossian, return back to your homeland and live the way we used to live before the exile, and work together and make a better future.”
Yesterday the Chagossians were served eviction notices from their Islands. Backed by the Great British PAC, the Chagossian Government are now fighting this through the legal channels.
Donate to the Chagossians legal fund here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/savechagos
A video from the landing is available for download here: http://u.pc.cd/wJhrtalK.
