UK Pauses Chagos Islands Sovereignty Agreement Amid US Opposition
Sir Keir Starmer has put the Chagos Islands sovereignty deal on hold as relations with former US President Donald Trump deteriorate, following the US's failure to formally confirm its approval of the treaty.
Despite initially expressing support for the treaty, Trump later urged Starmer to abandon the agreement. In January, he described the plan as an "act of total weakness."
UK government officials have indicated that they are not completely abandoning the agreement, which would transfer sovereignty of the British territory to Mauritius. However, they have run out of time to pass the necessary legislation before Parliament is prorogued in the coming weeks.
Moreover, a new Chagos bill is not expected to be included in the King's Speech scheduled for mid-May.
It is understood that the UK has yet to receive a formal exchange of letters from the US, a legal requirement for the treaty's enactment.
Background on the Chagos Islands and the Deal
The Chagos Islands, officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, are located in the Indian Ocean and have been under British control since the early 19th century.
The proposed deal would see the UK cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius while paying an average of £101 million ($136 million) annually to lease back a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago.
A government spokesperson stated:
"Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US. Ensuring its long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority - it is the entire reason for the deal.
We continue to believe the agreement is the best way to protect the long-term future of the base, but we have always said we would only proceed with the deal if it has US support. We are continuing to engage with the US and Mauritius."
The UK had been in the process of passing legislation to formalize the Chagos deal into law. The bill was in the final stages of passage, but officials now say time has run out.
Government and Expert Reactions
Former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Simon McDonald told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the government had "no other choice." He explained:
"The UK had two objectives, one was to comply with international law, the second was to reinforce the relationship with the United States.
When the president of the United States is openly hostile, the government has to rethink, so this agreement, this treaty will go into the deep freeze for the time being."
When asked if the government could have made different decisions earlier to enable the plan to proceed, McDonald said that once the matter was brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), "we were bound by the outcome of this process."
In 2019, the ICJ issued a non-legally binding advisory opinion recommending that the UK end its control of the islands "as rapidly as possible."
McDonald added:
"The UK has always defined itself as a country which respects, upholds international law, and I think the government is correct to keep to that traditional policy."
Recent Developments and Political Responses
In February, the government denied that the deal had been paused, shortly after a minister informed MPs in Parliament that the UK was "pausing" the process of passing the bill.
The deal was originally signed in May 2025 and welcomed by the US, but in early 2026, Trump criticized it, labeling it an "act of total weakness."
The agreement faced further uncertainty in February when Trump posted on his Truth Social platform urging Sir Keir not to "give away Diego Garcia" and calling the deal "a blight on our great ally." These comments came despite the US Department of State officially backing the UK government's plan a day earlier.
Many Chagossians view the deal as a betrayal and want the UK to retain sovereignty over the islands so they can eventually return to their homeland.
Both the Conservative Party and Reform UK, which have previously criticized the deal, have welcomed the decision to shelve it.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said:
"If Keir Starmer's Chagos surrender now finds its rightful place - on the ash heap of history - it will be because Conservatives led the fight against it from day one.
That it took so long is another damning indictment of a prime minister who fought to hand over British sovereign territory and pay £35bn to use a crucial military base which was already ours.
Unlike Labour, we will always put our country first. We are the only party who can be trusted to stand up for Britain's interests abroad."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage stated:
"This is great news and long overdue. Now the government must right a terrible wrong and help the Chagossians to fully resettle their home."
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller commented:
"The handling of the Chagos deal has been totally shambolic - from its start under the Tories to this point under Labour.
But Trump's fickle approach shows just how unreliable he is.
We had a strong, stable and effective military partnership with the US. Trump has gravely endangered that.
Any deal must provide clarity on the future military partnership with the US and address Chagossian rights and Parliamentary scrutiny of the sums involved."
