A key ally of President Donald Trump has accused Britain of “letting down” the US over the future of the Chagos Islands.
The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested Labour is “outsourcing” national security as he launched a scathing attack on the Government.
He said: “President Trump has made it clear that we will not outsource our national security or our hemispheric security to any other countries.
“Our partner in the UK is letting us down with the base on Diego Garcia, which we’ve shared together for many, many years, and they want to turn it over to Mauritius.”
It comes the day after the US President launched an attack on Labour’s controversial decision surrounding the islands.
Taking to his Truth Social page, Mr Trump said: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ Nato Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness…The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”
He later said: “I mean, they always treat me well. They get a little bit rough when, you know, when I’m not around, but when I’m around they treat me very nicely” adding they needed to “straighten out their countries”.The President’s outburst followed talks with top US generals who warned the Chagos deal would “weaken” the American military.
President Trump has changed his mind on Chagos
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REUTERS
Nine former army, navy and intelligence leaders penned a letter to Mr Trump just 48 hours before he made the extraordinary post on Truth Social.
In it, defence chiefs said Britain’s deal to hand the archipelago to Mauritius would make the strategically vital Diego Garcia airbase, which is located on one of its islands, “inherently less secure”.
The airbase will be leased back to the UK for a period of 99 years at an average cost of £101million a year.
Mr Trump backed the deal when it was signed last year, saying he was minded to “go along with” it.
His change of heart came shortly after retired four-star admirals and generals made their feelings clear.
Keir Starmer has been forced to defend his Chagos policy once again
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REUTERSThey wrote: “From a military standpoint, sovereignty matters. A base held under lease, subject to international arbitration, political pressure, or third party treaty obligations, is inherently less secure than one held under sovereign authority.
“It introduces uncertainty into contingency planning and weakens deterrence by signalling conditional access rather than assured access. In an era of lawfare and coercive diplomacy, that distinction is operational, not theoretical.
“The proposed transfer of sovereignty to Mauritius would introduce a new and unnecessary variable into the command, legal, and political environment surrounding one of America’s most important overseas bases.
“Once sovereignty is transferred, it cannot be recovered. Any future crisis would be managed from a weaker position than the one we hold today.”
Mr Trump also cited the agreement as a reason why America should be granted control of Greenland.
His insistence on the matter has already caused a rift in UK-US tensions.
Ministers have remained steadfast in their stance that handing over the Chagos Islands is necessary to secure the future of the Diego Garcia base because of an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The US President is also believed to have held talks with House of Representatives speaker Mike Johnson, who heard Nigel Farage’s opinion on the matter in a GB News interview earlier this week.
Speaking on the People’s Channel last night, the Reform UK leader declared “we have been influential” in prompting the President to suddenly change stance.
“I think Mike Johnson might have been surprised about how strong I was on this question”, Nigel mused.
“I can’t say, ‘game, set, match, GB News’, but I can say we have been very influential in what we have heard from the US President about this surrender overnight.
“You know what? As a channel, we should be proud of ourselves for playing a part in this.
”The Government has defended the deal, saying it had been welcomed by key allies, including the US.
A statement reads: “The UK will never compromise on our national security. We acted because the base on Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and would have prevented it from operating as intended in the future.
“This deal secures the operations of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.
“It has been publicly welcomed by the US, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies, as well as key international partners including India, Japan, and South Korea.”