The UK government on Tuesday defended its decision to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, insisting the agreement safeguards the long-term future of the strategically vital US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, despite sharp criticism from US President Donald Trump.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, described the deal as an act of “GREAT STUPIDITY,” accusing Britain of giving away land of major national security importance. His remarks marked a notable shift from his earlier position, having previously endorsed the agreement when it was signed in May 2025.
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired,” Trump wrote.
His comments came amid heightened tensions with Europe, following threats to impose tariffs on Britain and other European countries over their defence of Greenland’s sovereignty against US pressure.
Under the Chagos agreement, Britain will formally transfer sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, while leasing Diego Garcia — home to a key US-UK military base — for 99 years at an annual cost of £101 million. The UK government estimates the net cost of the lease over its lifetime at around £3.4 billion when inflation is taken into account.
Downing Street rejected Trump’s criticism, stressing that the deal strengthens, rather than weakens, Western security interests.
“This deal secures the operations of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out,” a government spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the agreement had been “publicly welcomed by the US, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies,” as well as by major partners including India, Japan and South Korea.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also voiced support for the deal in May, stating that the Trump administration believed the agreement ensured the “long-term, stable, and effective operation” of the Diego Garcia facility.
UK cabinet minister Darren Jones said the treaty could no longer be undone, noting that it was already signed and in the final stages of parliamentary approval.
“The treaty has been signed with the Mauritian government. So I can’t reverse the clock on that,” he told Times Radio.
Britain retained control of the Chagos Islands after Mauritius gained independence in the 1960s, forcibly evicting thousands of islanders — a move that sparked decades of legal challenges. In 2019, the International Court of Justice advised the UK to hand the territory back to Mauritius, a ruling London said had left the status of the military base under increasing legal threat.
The deal has divided British politics. Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Trump was “right” to criticise the handover, while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage welcomed what he described as Trump’s veto of the “surrender” of the islands.
However, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of failing to manage relations with Washington.
“This shows Starmer’s approach to Trump has failed,” Davey said. “The Chagos deal was sold as proof the government could work with him. Now it’s falling apart. Appeasing a bully never works.”
Despite the backlash, the UK government maintains that the agreement resolves long-running legal disputes and secures the future of one of the West’s most important military installations.
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