UK set to revisit Chagos deal after latest Trump criticism

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting announced on Wednesday that the UK will reassess its agreement to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, following US President Donald Trump's criticism of the deal. The announcement came a day after Trump disparaged the agreement during his first meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Burnham affirmed that the UK would work towards resolving the issue and finding a way to collaborate with US partners. Streeting assured that the president's stance on the current Chagos deal would not change, emphasizing the need to collaborate with American allies to improve the agreement. However, Britain will not make annual payments of £120 million to Mauritius for leasing the Diego Garcia military base during this review period.

The agreement, signed last year between Burnham and the Mauritian government, would return the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius and lease the Diego Garcia base to the UK for 99 years, with an option to extend. Trump initially supported the pact but later expressed strong disapproval, causing friction with the UK-US administration.

Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the agreement, citing international legal challenges to Britain's claim over the islands and the necessity of a deal with Mauritius to maintain US and UK access to the base. The Chagos Islands were seized by Britain when Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s, leading to the forced displacement of thousands of islanders.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 2019 that Britain unlawfully separated Chagos from Mauritius during its decolonization.