Britain’s government said on Saturday it had put on hold its deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands — home to the strategically vital Diego Garcia air base used by both UK and US forces — following opposition from US President Donald Trump.
According to Reuters, the planned legislation underpinning the deal to cede the islands to Mauritius would not be included in the government’s next parliamentary agenda. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office said London would continue trying to persuade Washington to give its formal approval.
Trump said in February that the deal was a “big mistake,” having previously described it as the best agreement Starmer would get.
Under the proposed agreement, Britain would cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining control of the Diego Garcia military base on a 99-year lease — preserving US operations there.
| Key Element | Detail |
| The deal | UK cedes sovereignty to Mauritius |
| Diego Garcia | UK retains control on 99-year lease |
| US operations | Protected under the agreement |
| Status now | On hold due to US opposition |
A British government spokesperson told Reuters: “We continue to believe the agreement is the best way to protect the long-term future of the base, but we have always said we would only proceed with the deal if it has US support. We are continuing to engage with the US and Mauritius.”
According to Reuters reporting, the alliance between Washington and London has come under strain in recent weeks over Starmer’s reluctance to get involved in the US-Israeli war on Iran and his initial refusal to allow Trump to use British air bases to launch attacks.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the British leader, saying he was “not Winston Churchill” and had damaged the “special relationship” between Britain and the United States.
The Chagos Islands deal appears to have become another point of tension between the two long-standing allies.
Britain forcibly displaced up to 2,000 indigenous Chagossians in the late 1960s and 1970s to establish the military base on the Diego Garcia atoll. The Chagossian people have fought for decades for the right to return to their homeland.
As world leaders debate sovereignty and military bases, the voices of the displaced Chagossians have often been overlooked.
Toby Noskwith, a spokesperson for Indigenous Chagossian People, a campaign group, told Reuters: “We are astonished to have come to this point. This has been framed mainly as a state-to-state issue but the people who have been lost throughout the process are the Chagossians, particularly elders and survivors.”
Noskwith also said questions needed to be asked about “the enormous sums of money which have been wasted on a collapsed negotiation, and the legality of conceiving a plan which denied the Chagossians their right to self-determination.”
He added that Starmer had to facilitate the dignified resettlement of the Chagossian people.
Mauritius Attorney General Gavin Glover told local media on Saturday that the UK and the US would need to find “common ground” to reach an agreement.
According to Reuters, Glover said: “The information that the agreement has been put on hold does not come as a surprise to us.”
“The deterioration in relations between Keir Starmer and Donald Trump is at the root of the problem, as the United Kingdom needs the United States to be aligned with the treaty.”
Glover said that the country will hold discussions with Britain later this month in Mauritius.
| Event | Timeline |
| UK-US engagement continues | Ongoing |
| UK-Mauritius discussions | Later this month in Mauritius |
| Possible renegotiation | Unknown — depends on US approval |
| Chagossian resettlement campaign | Long-term, ongoing |
The Chagos Islands deal represents a complex intersection of UK sovereignty, US strategic interests, and the rights of the displaced Chagossian people.
For now, the deal is on hold because Washington has not signed off. With US-UK relations already strained over the Iran conflict, the Chagos handover has become another diplomatic battleground.
Meanwhile, the Chagossian people — many of whom are elderly survivors of forced displacement — remain caught in the middle, still waiting for the right to return to the islands they were removed from more than 50 years ago.
As one campaigner put it: “The people who have been lost throughout the process are the Chagossians.”
Sources: Reuters, UK Government statements, Indigenous Chagossian People campaign group, Mauritius Attorney General statements
