Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed talks with the US over the Chagos Islands deal have reopened as the Government seeks to “allay concerns”.
The Prime Minister said the deal had been “raised” with the White House at the end of last week and discussions had continued into this week, despite Donald Trump having earlier branded it an “act of great stupidity”.
The deal would see Britain cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.
The UK would however, lease back the military base on the island of Diego Garcia, which is jointly used with the US, for at least 99 years, while making payments to Mauritius.
The Prime Minister told reporters travelling to China with him today: “I’ve obviously discussed Chagos with Donald Trump a number of times.
“It has 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 position, as you know, is that when the Trump administration came in, we paused for three months to give them time to consider the Chagos deal, which they did at agency level.
“Once they’d done that, they were very clear in the pronouncements about the fact that they supported the deal.”
The Prime Minister told reporters on a plane to China today the Chagos Islands deal had been ‘raised with the White House’ last week
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The Labour leader would not be drawn on whether President Trump understood the deal, reiterating “it was an agency review that was conducted in the US before they then concluded it was a deal they wanted to support, did support and did so in very clear terms”.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “We will continue to engage with the US on this important matter and the importance of the deal to secure US and UK interests and allay any concerns, as we’ve done throughout the process.”
President Trump last week said the UK was planning to “give away” Diego Garcia for “no reason whatsoever”.
He wrote to his Truth Social platform: “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.
Donald Trump last week branded the deal an ‘act of great stupidity’
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“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
He added that the “UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY”.
The Government postponed a House of Lords debate on Chagos which had been scheduled for Monday.
The Bill aimed at enshrining the deal in law is currently in the later stages of parliamentary scrutiny.
The deal would see the Britain lease back the UK-US military base on the island of Diego Garcia
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The delay in the latest round came after the Conservatives tabled an amendment calling for a pause “in the light of the changing geopolitical circumstances”.
The amendment called for the Government to ensure the agreement does not breach a 1966 treaty signed with the US which confirms British sovereignty of the islands.
It is not yet clear what date the Bill will next be debated in the Lords.
Downing Street said it will be “announced in the usual way”, with a spokesman denying it is being indefinitely delayed.
The No10 spokesman said Britain and the US are “continuing to work together” to ensure the future operation of the Diego Garcia military base.