Donald Trump has said Sir Keir Starmer is “making a big mistake” with the Chagos Islands deal.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president warned against the loss of the US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, which the UK is retaining through a 99-year lease of the island.
Trump wrote: “Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but prime minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before.
“In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature.”
He went on to say that if Iran does not make a peace deal with the US, “it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia”, as well as RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, to “eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime – An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries”.
“Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease,” Mr Trump continued.
“This land should not be taken away from the U.K. and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally. We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them.
“DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!”
The US backed the deal to give sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius as recently as Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the US State Department said: “The United States supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago.
“The United States reiterates its desire to conclude a bilateral agreement with the United Kingdom to guarantee continued use of basing and other facilities in the Chagos archipelago to advance U.S. national security, as well as security and stability across the Indian Ocean.”
Mr Trump previously criticised the deal in January, calling it an “act of total weakness” and “great stupidity” – although following a phone call with Starmer on 5 February, he signalled his support for the deal, calling it “the best [Starmer] could make”.
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The Chagos Islands are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, with the island of Diego Garcia home to a joint UK-US military base.
The islands are an overseas territory of the UK, but after the UK lost a court case over the sovereignty of the islands, the government agreed to cede the islands to Mauritius.
The law to formally give away the islands is still before parliament, and the issue has become a significant political row.
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The Conservatives and Reform UK both oppose the deal, while the Liberal Democrats have demanded MPs have a fresh vote on the issue.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: “President Trump has once again publicly rebuked Keir Starmer and his Government over their ill-judged, unnecessary and expensive Chagos Surrender.”
“It’s time Starmer finally saw sense, u-turned and scrapped this appalling deal altogether,” she added.
