Starmer drops attempt to sign Chagos deal before Trump return

Decision means deal to hand islands to Mauritius could collapse if president-elect opposes it after taking office

Daily Telegraph 15/01/25

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Sir Keir Starmer has ditched attempts to get his Chagos Islands deal signed before Donald Trump takes office next week.

Downing Street has confirmed that the Prime Minister will not sign off on an agreement until the president-elect has looked it over. The announcement means the pact could collapse altogether if the Trump administration decides to formally oppose it.

Sir Keir’s spokesman said on Wednesday: “We will only agree to a deal that is in the UK’s best interests and protects our national security. It is obviously now right that the new US administration has the chance to consider this and discuss this once they are in office.”

Asked whether this meant the UK would not sign a deal before Mr Trump’s inauguration on Monday, he replied: “You can take from what I have just said.”

Downing Street suggested that while Mr Trump would be able to oppose the deal, he would not be granted a “veto” over whether it is signed.

A source close to the Mauritian government – which had been holding up the deal – claimed on Tuesday that the two sides had reached a consensus with days to spare before Mr Trump returns to the White House.

The pact was expected to be passed by a special council of ministers in Mauritius on Wednesday morning, effectively giving the green light to the handover.

But hopes of a breakthrough collapsed on Wednesday morning when the Mauritians announced they were flying Gavin Glover, their attorney general, to the UK for further negotiations.

A statement issued by the Mauritian government said the country’s cabinet had been “informed of developments” following Mr Glover’s talks in London this week and had decided that negotiations should continue.

“The attorney general will travel again this evening in order to continue with the discussions in London,” it said. “Upon his return, cabinet will then be apprised of the situation.

“The commitment and resolve of Mauritius to reach an agreement and end this long battle for the sovereignty of Mauritius over the Chagos archipelago remains unshaken.”

A source on the UK side had urged caution over assuming the deal was done, suggesting the Mauritians were getting ahead of themselves.

There were indications on Tuesday night that the UK Government may have got cold feet about announcing a final deal before Mr Trump’s inauguration amid a backlash from Republicans.

The president-elect is said to be opposed to the deal because of its perceived implications for US security. There are concerns that it will benefit China, which is expanding its influence in the region and has a trade deal with Mauritius.

The Financial Times reported that the Government wanted to delay a formal announcement of the completed deal until it had Mr Trump’s blessing, with a Foreign Office source stressing to The Telegraph that the UK would not give final sign-off on any agreement without all key international partners on board.

The Mauritian government, which came into power in November, had been attempting to renegotiate parts of the deal. 

These included the length of the lease to continue UK and US use of the Diego Garcia military base, which was set at 99 years, and “fair and equitable compensation” for this beyond the £90 million a year on offer.

On Wednesday, Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said the setback was a “complete humiliation” for the Government.

“Labour have been desperate to sign off the surrender of the Chagos Islands before President Trump returns to office, and the Mauritius government know,” she said.

“They see the weakness at the heart of this Government and are trying to exploit it by pressuring Britain into paying more for an even weaker lease for the military base at Diego Garcia.

“While Labour have been hiding the details from us, we know they are prepared to blow billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money for the indignity of this dodgy deal, which will undermine our security and defence. 

“It is high time they abandoned it altogether [and] start focusing on how to strengthen our defence capabilities and get the economy growing.”