The UK government is reviewing its agreement to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, following renewed criticism from US President Donald Trump, the defence secretary has confirmed.
Wes Streeting told BBC Breakfast that the review is necessary because the United States does not support the deal as currently drafted. Trump called the agreement "terrible" during his address to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
Under the original deal, agreed in May 2025, Britain would hand sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius but retain a 99-year lease on Diego Garcia, the largest island, where a strategic UK-US military base is located. The arrangement would cost the UK an average of £101 million ($136m) per year to lease back the base.
The agreement was paused indefinitely in April after Trump withdrew his support. Streeting said the government must now "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."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham met Trump face-to-face at the UN General Assembly in New York, where the US president reiterated his criticism. Burnham said he had "inherited the situation" and that "it's critical to safeguard the future of the base."
Burnham had previously spoken with Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam before travelling to New York. According to an official readout, Burnham reaffirmed his commitment to work with the US to ratify the deal.
Government sources indicated that the review does not represent a formal process with a specific timeframe, and that Burnham and Streeting's comments reflect the longstanding position that any deal would require American support.
Mauritius has argued that it was illegally forced to cede the islands in 1965 as a condition of gaining independence. The UK government has previously stated that an ongoing legal process over this claim risks the security of the military base.
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