"Under the deal, which the US backed last year, the UK would transfer sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius and lease back a joint UK-US military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia. Ministers insist the deal is necessary to protect the base from "malign interests", but last week President Trump called it "an act of great stupidity"."
"Speaking to reporters while travelling to Beijing, Sir Keir Starmer said he had discussed it with Donald Trump "a number of times" and said the issue had been "raised with the White House at the tail end of last week, over the weekend and into the early part of this week". The prime minister said the Trump administration had been given three months to look at the deal last year and had concluded it "was a deal they wanted to support, did support and did so in very clear terms"."
The UK is in discussions with the United States over a deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia. Ministers say the arrangement protects the base from "malign interests", but US President Trump called the plan "an act of great stupidity" and said he was "against" the deal, creating doubt about US support. The government says the Trump administration previously reviewed the proposal for three months and had clearly supported it. Conservative critics warn the transfer could undermine national security because of Mauritius's close ties to China. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized the UK and accused it of "letting us down", prompting concern among Foreign Office officials.
Read at www.bbc.com
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