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Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed Britain has restarted discussions with the US on the Chagos Islands deal, after Donald Trump’s criticism last week raised doubts over its future.
Britain’s Prime Minister acknowledged on Wednesday that London had “raised” the topic of a deal with Washington late last week and that talks continued this week.
He tried to emphasize how supportive the Trump administration was of the agreement last year.
Last week Trump blindsided No 10 with a post on his Truth social platform, describing the treaty as an “act of colossal stupidity” and “absolute weakness” by Britain.
Starmer responded by claiming in the House of Commons that the US President had scuttled the deal “for the express purpose of exerting pressure” on Britain over the future of Greenland.
The deal between the UK and Mauritius would hand the latter sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago – officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory. Britain will lease back Diego Garcia island, which houses an important joint US-UK military base, for £3.4 billion for 99 years.
Speaking on a flight to China, Starmer said he had “discussed Chagos with Donald Trump several times”, but declined to confirm whether it was on the agenda during a phone call between the leaders on Sunday.
However, he clarified that the matter “has been raised with the White House late last week, over the weekend and early part of this week”.
Starmer said: “As you know, the situation is that when the Trump administration came in, we paused for three months to give them time to consider the Chagos deal, which they did at the agency level.
“And once they did that, they were very clear in announcements about the fact that they supported the deal, and announcements were made.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among the senior figures who praised the deal.
A Downing Street spokesman also confirmed on Wednesday that London was trying to “assuage concerns” in Washington.
“We will continue to dialogue with the US on this important matter and the importance of a deal to secure US and UK interests and address any concerns, as we have done throughout the process,” the spokesman told reporters in Westminster.
British officials say “we have seen nothing from the American side” since Trump’s statement that Britain is under pressure to change its stance on the issue.
London hopes that the US administration will give a concrete indication of its thinking in the coming days.
The British government has argued that the only way to ensure the future of the military facility on Diego Garcia is to secure an agreement with Mauritius, after legal challenges threaten the UK’s uninterrupted use of the electromagnetic spectrum, which enables military communications and intelligence gathering and is integral to the base.
Compounding the government’s difficulties over the deal, the Conservatives – who oppose it – last week successfully forced Starmer to block the bill that paves the way for ratification from moving through Parliament.
Tory peers have tabled a “disastrous amendment” to the legislation, forcing ministers to delay its return to Parliament this week. A Number 10 spokesperson was unable to say when the bill would be tabled for return.
