Nigel Farage is set to meet Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago mansion on Friday to discuss Sir Keir Starmer's Chagos Islands deal, as the war in the Middle East escalates. Mr Trump has dramatically U-turned on his support for Sir Keir's controversial agreement in recent weeks, at one point describing it as an act of great stupidity.
It was clear for weeks that the UK did not want to become part of any initial attack by the US and Israel on Iran, judging it to be illegal under international law, because Tehran posed no imminent threat to the UK.
The Chagos Islands deal does give sovereignty to Mauritius in return for a lease on Diego Garcia, the island used for a major UK-US airbase, although this is 99 years rather than 100. The part about Indigenous people is more off piste. The Chagos islanders have been exiled since Diego Garcia was forcibly cleared more than 50 years ago to make way for the base.
The British government has not given permission for the US to use UK military bases to support potential US strikes on Iran, the BBC understands. The US has in the past used RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, and the UK overseas territory of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, to carry out strikes in the Middle East region. A UK government spokesperson said: "As routine, we do not comment on operational matters."
Last weekend, I asked two British foreign-policy officials what had been the most troubling moment, so far, of President Donald Trump's world-destabilizing start to 2026. Both said (despite the British government's refusal to acknowledge this out loud) that it was the United States' seizure of the Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, from Caracas, in the early hours of January 3rd. Trump "surprised us on the downside," one said. "Just not having had an inkling that Venezuela was coming," the other observed.
Negotiations over a technology deal between the UK and US have stalled because of stumbling blocks in wider trade negotiations between the two sides. The Technology Prosperity Deal - which was billed as "historic" when it was unveiled during US President Donald Trump's state visit in September - saw both countries pledge to co-operate in areas such as AI. However, talks on the agreement are now being held up because of US concerns about what it considers to be wider UK trade barriers.
Trump talked about his policies to secure borders in the US and said the UK faced a similar challenge with migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. "You have people coming in and I told the prime minister I would stop it, and it doesn't matter if you call out the military, it doesn't matter what means you use," Trump said.
With the U.S. reeling in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump headed to the United Kingdom on Tuesday for a long-scheduled state visit. The president is known to be a huge fan of pomp and pageantry, and Britain is eager to deliver. King Charles and Queen Camilla are hosting the Trumps at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, and activities include a horse-drawn carriage procession, military flyovers, and a state banquet.
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