‘Work more with US allies’: UK to review Chagos Islands deal after Trump's ‘terrible deal’ remark to PM Andy Burnham

UK will review its Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius after Trump criticised the agreement, with the future of the Diego Garcia base at the centre.

Published on: Sep 23, 2026, 16:25:18 IST

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The UK will review its agreement with Mauritius to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, defence secretary Wes Streeting said on Wednesday, after US President Donald Trump again criticised the deal and said he did not support it.

Streeting said the review was necessary because the United States does not back the agreement in its current form. Speaking to BBC, he said Trump’s latest comments had made clear that the US president’s position had not changed and that Britain would need to work with Washington to find an arrangement it could support.

Why is the UK reviewing the deal?

The announcement came a day after Trump criticised the agreement during his first face-to-face meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Trump called the agreement a “terrible deal” and said he did not support it. Burnham indicated that Britain would look at the issue again and said the government would work to find a resolution involving the different sides.

Streeting said Trump’s latest remarks provided “absolute clarity” that his position on the agreement had not changed.

“So we have to do more work with our American allies, with President Trump and his administration, to get the deal to a place where he can support it,” he told the BBC.

Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that no money would be handed over to Mauritius “at this stage” while officials review the agreement.

What is the Chagos Islands deal?

Under the agreement negotiated by former prime minister Keir Starmer’s government, Britain would transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining access to the Diego Garcia military base through a long-term lease.

The proposed arrangement provides for a 99-year lease of the base. The UK government had estimated the overall cost of the agreement at about £3.4 billion, while the original terms involved annual payments to Mauritius for the lease.

Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago, hosts a strategically important joint UK-US military base. Streeting described it as one of Britain’s most sensitive national security assets and said securing its long-term future would be a key focus of the review.

The agreement was signed in 2025 but had not completed the parliamentary process required for it to take effect. It was put on hold in April after Trump withdrew his support.

Why is Diego Garcia important?

The UK has repeatedly argued that resolving the sovereignty dispute is necessary to provide long-term certainty for the military base on Diego Garcia.

The Chagos Islands have been under British control since the period before Mauritius gained independence in 1968. Britain retained the archipelago and established the military facility on Diego Garcia, while thousands of Chagossians were removed from the islands.

Mauritius has long argued that the islands were wrongfully separated from its territory.

In 2019, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that Britain’s administration of the Chagos Archipelago should end and that the UK should facilitate the completion of Mauritius’s decolonisation.

The proposed agreement was intended to resolve the sovereignty dispute while ensuring continued use of Diego Garcia for military purposes.

What happens next?

Burnham has said Britain will work with the different sides to find a resolution, while Streeting said the UK would continue discussions with the US administration.

The UK government now faces the task of revisiting the agreement while seeking US backing and maintaining its commitment to Mauritius.

Streeting said the government was working towards an arrangement that would provide long-term certainty for Diego Garcia and one that, while it may not satisfy everyone, would be acceptable to all sides.

(with inputs from agencies)

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