Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial Chagos Islands deal is facing a potentially devastating blow after reports that Donald Trump is considering a plan to acquire the territory directly, bypassing the Prime Minister’s agreement and raising fresh questions over the future of one of Labour’s most contentious foreign policy decisions.
The proposal, reportedly circulated among senior White House officials, would see Washington negotiate its own arrangement to secure long-term control of Diego Garcia, the strategically vital military base at the heart of Western operations across the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.
While the plan is not understood to be President Trump’s preferred option, the mere fact it is under consideration underlines the growing unease within Washington over Labour’s decision to surrender sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
At the centre of the row is Diego Garcia itself — a remote coral atoll that has become one of America’s most important overseas military assets.
The base hosts bomber deployments, intelligence operations and naval facilities critical to both British and American security interests. During the recent conflict with Iran, it served as a launch point for long-range B-2 Spirit stealth bomber missions against targets deep inside Iranian territory.
Its importance explains why many within the Trump administration have become increasingly alarmed at the prospect of handing sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius.
Administration officials are said to have particular concerns over Mauritius’s relationships with both China and Iran, and the implications of transferring control of strategically important surrounding waters.
Under Sir Keir’s original agreement, Britain would relinquish sovereignty before leasing back the military base for 99 years at a reported cost of around £35 billion.
Critics have repeatedly questioned why Britain should pay vast sums of taxpayer money to retain access to territory it already controls.
The deal was effectively frozen earlier this year after President Trump withdrew American backing.
Since then, the US President has become one of the agreement’s most vocal critics.
In a series of public interventions, he branded the arrangement an act of “great stupidity” and warned Sir Keir against “giving away Diego Garcia”.
The dispute has also exposed wider tensions within the Anglo-American relationship.
Trump’s opposition reportedly intensified after Britain refused to allow American forces to use Diego Garcia during the opening phase of strikes against Iran.
The President has since launched a succession of personal attacks on the Prime Minister, declaring he was “no Winston Churchill” and accusing him of weakening the special relationship.
The latest reports suggest some officials are now exploring whether the United States could ultimately acquire the territory itself should sovereignty first pass to Mauritius.
Such a scenario would represent a remarkable diplomatic embarrassment for Downing Street.
Labour has defended the agreement by arguing it was necessary to secure the long-term future of the military base and prevent legal challenges that could eventually threaten Western access altogether.
A Government spokesman insisted ministers had inherited a deteriorating situation and were acting to protect British national interests.
“Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US, which has protected our shared security for nearly 60 years,” the spokesman said.
Yet opponents remain unconvinced.
Robert Midgley, spokesman for the Friends of the British Overseas Territories, argued there was no justification for ceding sovereignty at all.
“We welcome the US’s urgency to protect Western security from malign actors,” he said.
However, the Chagos Islands are British Overseas Territories and there is no need to cede, sell or lease to anyone. They have been British since 1814 and we intend for them to remain that way.”
The controversy has become increasingly symbolic of a broader criticism facing Sir Keir’s foreign policy.
Supporters portray the agreement as a pragmatic solution to a long-running dispute.
Critics see something very different — a Government preparing to surrender sovereign territory, commit billions of pounds in lease payments and still risk losing influence over one of the most strategically important military facilities on the planet.
If Washington ultimately decides it would rather control Diego Garcia itself than trust Labour’s arrangement, Downing Street may find itself confronting the most humiliating verdict of all: that Britain’s closest ally has more faith in owning the islands outright than in Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to give them away.
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