The UK government has shelved its plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after failing to secure formal approval from the United States, following vocal opposition from former President Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's administration has paused the treaty, which would have ceded control of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius while allowing the UK to lease back the strategic Diego Garcia military base for approximately £101 million annually. Officials cited insufficient time to pass necessary legislation before Parliament's upcoming prorogation, with the bill notably absent from the King's Speech scheduled for mid-May.
A critical stumbling block emerged when the UK failed to receive a required formal exchange of letters from the US—a legal prerequisite for enacting the treaty. This followed Trump's public criticism of the agreement, which he labeled an "act of total weakness" despite earlier US support.
"Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US," a government spokesperson stated. "Ensuring its long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority—it is the entire reason for the deal. 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."
Lord Simon McDonald, former Foreign Office permanent secretary, explained the government's position on BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The UK had two objectives: one was to comply with international law, the second was to reinforce the relationship with the United States. When the president of the United States is openly hostile, the government has to rethink, so this agreement will go into the deep freeze for the time being."
The deal originated from a 2019 International Court of Justice opinion that the UK should end its control of the islands "as rapidly as possible," though the ruling was non-binding. Signed in May 2025 with initial US backing, the agreement faced renewed uncertainty in early 2026 when Trump publicly urged Starmer not to "give away Diego Garcia" via his Truth Social platform.
Political reactions have been sharply divided. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed the shelving, calling it "another damning indictment of a prime minister who fought to hand over British sovereign territory." Reform UK's Nigel Farage described the move as "great news and long overdue," while Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller criticized the "totally shambolic" handling of the deal and warned that "Trump's fickle approach shows just how unreliable he is."
Many Chagossians, who were forcibly removed from the islands decades ago, view the agreement as a betrayal of their hopes to return to their homeland. The UK has controlled the archipelago since the early 19th century, with the US operating the Diego Garcia base since the 1970s under a bilateral defense agreement.