Keir Starmer said that US intelligence agencies do not agree with Donald Trump's recent opposition to the Chagos agreement, and emphasized that the government in Washington supports this agreement because it strengthens US defense capabilities.
The British prime minister made comments that could undermine the US president's new stance on the deal as an “extremely stupid move”, while flying to Beijing on a visit focused on UK national security, The Guardian writes.
Downing Street sources told The Guardian that the agreement, formally approved by Starmer and his Mauritian counterpart last May, was a “done deal” and would not be breached by the US.
Downing Street said the British government had heard nothing from the US State Department or US intelligence agencies that would lead it to believe it had changed its mind, despite Trump's fiery rhetoric.
Sources say the US president's apparent shift, criticized by the Conservative Party opposed to the Chagos agreement, is related to his efforts to acquire the strategic Arctic territory of Greenland.
Starmer, when asked whether he believed Trump would fulfill the commitments he made when he supported the deal last year, told reporters: “Obviously I have discussed Chagos with Donald Trump many times. This issue was raised at the White House last weekend, at the end of last week and early this week. The issue, as you know, is that when the Trump administration came in, we took a three-month pause to give them time to review the Chagos agreement, which they did at the agency level, they made it very clear that they supported this agreement.” – and these are statements by Secretary of Defense, as I recall, Marco Rubio, as well as by President Trump himself.”
Asked whether he thought Trump fully understood the deal – after it was revealed he got the details wrong – Starmer added: “There was a three-month pause while his administration reviewed the details at the agency level because obviously it was about security and intelligence. So the agency review took place in the US before they concluded that this was an agreement that they wanted to support, support and implement in very clear terms.”
Trump last week suggested that London's final decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was one of the reasons why the country wanted to occupy Greenland, sparking a series of social media posts.
Trump wrote: “Surprisingly, our 'wonderful' NATO ally, Britain, is now planning to cede the island of Diego Garcia, home to a vital US military base, to Mauritius and to do so FOR NO REASON whatsoever. There is no doubt that China and Russia have seen this act of absolute weakness. These are international powers that only recognize STRENGTH, and that is why the United States of America, under the leadership of I am now, after just one year, so respected.” Now more than ever, Britain's abandonment of vitally important land is a HUGE act of GREATNESS, and yet another very long reason why Greenland should be acquired for reasons of national security.
The look on his face initially surprised Downing Street, which believed the deal had been done months ago, but later led to a new, more aggressive stance from Starmer, who said he would “not relent” on Greenland.
The next stage of the Chagos handover bill has been delayed in the House of Commons, with Downing Street saying on Wednesday it was due to discussions with the US.
A No 10 Downing Street spokesman said: “We continue to work with the United States. We have consistently worked with them to develop this treaty and as ministers have said, we will continue to do so.”
The Guardian recalls that in October 2024, the Labor government agreed to transfer sovereignty of Chagos to Mauritius. Under the terms of the deal, the UK will retain the original 99-year lease to Diego Garcia, where it jointly operates a military base with the US, in return for what officials expect to be 3.4 billion pounds.
British officials said the deal was agreed under pressure from Washington, adding that their American partners were concerned about what would happen to the base if Mauritius won an international court case over its sovereignty.
At the time, Starmer argued that the UK had “secured a permanent base” and “our adversaries have stood up to it”, including China. However, the Conservative Party believes that the British government has sided with Beijing.
