Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have spoken about the Chagos Islands to each other for the first time on record since the President’s vicious attacks on the deal last month.
In a readout of a phone call between the two world leaders on Tuesday night, Downing Street said the pair “recognised the strategic importance” of the US-UK base on Diego Garcia.
“The leaders agreed their governments would continue working closely to guarantee the future operation of the base and speak again soon,” it continued.
President Trump attacked plans to hand over the islands to Mauritius in January – having previously given his support to the proposal last year.
Under the deal, the UK would lease Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands and home of the UK-US joint military base, from Mauritius over a period of 99 years.
The UK would pay £165million in each of the first three years, £120million from years four to 13, with the payments being linked to inflation after.
Last month, President Trump took to Truth Social and called the proposal an “act of total weakness”.
He added: “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.”
The statement, which was taken as retaliation in response to Sir Keir’s criticism of plans to acquire Greenland, led to talks between British and US officials.
Keir Starmer called Donald Trump over the phone on Tuesday to discuss the islands
|
DOWNING STREET
Just weeks ago, Mr Trump branded the deal to hand over Diego Garcia (pictured) an ‘act of total weakness and great stupidity’
|
GETTYHe said: “I called the President and said, ‘Mr President, with respect, you’re making a huge mistake.’ He said his advisers were telling him to do it. I never gave up.”
He added: “For the sake of the American people, and the good people of the United Kingdom, Mr Starmer if you’re listening please, please, please don’t give away the Chagos Islands.”
Lord Mandelson, the former ambassador to the United States, said there had been a “wobble” within the Government over the deal’s cost and legal necessity.
The Labour heavyweight told the Times that in spring 2025 he “became aware of a serious wobble in London over the agreement and its sellability to the British public”.
LATEST POLITICS DEVELOPMENTS:
Chagos Islands: key facts | GB NEWS
He added: “That was to do with the price tag and whether we had the total legal obligation to enter the deal and whether the original legal case made for the agreement in Whitehall was as watertight as was claimed.
“So on the one hand, I faced a sceptical US administration and then at another point a wobbly Government of my own behind me.”
Downing Street hit back at his words on Tuesday afternoon, however.
“We’ve been crystal clear about the importance of this deal and we inherited a situation where the effective operation of the military base was under threat,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
Donald Trump spoke to Sir Keir Starmer over phone regarding the Chagos Islands on Tuesday
|
PA“Claims that we negotiated this deal solely because of the 2019 ICJ (International Court of Justice) advisory opinion are simply wrong. That wasn’t the only challenge we faced.”
He added: “Without a deal, Mauritius would inevitably pursue a legally binding judgment, and that judgment would then be applied by countries and international organisations alike. And without a deal, we’d face serious, real-world operational impacts on the base.”
The alleged “wobble” was attributed to a change of governments in the US and Mauritius in 2024, leading to scrutiny from the new administrations.