No 10 defends Chagos deal after Trump urges UK not to ‘give away’ islands

Downing Street has defended the Chagos Islands deal as being in the interests of the US as well as Britain after Donald Trump criticised the agreement and threw its future into doubt.

Mr Trump has urged Sir Keir Starmer not to “give away Diego Garcia” – an island on the archipelago which is home to a joint UK-US military base – to Mauritius despite Washington signalling its official backing for the deal.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman defended the Government’s work on the agreement and appeared to lay the blame for conceding sovereignty over the Chagos Islands upon the previous Conservative government.

Asked about the US president’s remarks, the spokesman said the Government “had to take action to protect our military advantage and stop our adversaries getting a foothold in such a strategically-important part of the world”.

He said: “Refusing to act could expose one of our most valuable military assets to China. So, like any responsible government would, we negotiated a deal to protect our interests.

“Let’s not forget, it was the last government that started these negotiations over two years ago.

“That’s why they held 11 rounds of talks that form the backbone of the deal that the Government has concluded. They made the key concession of offering to give up sovereignty, from which there was no coming back.”

Keeping control of Diego Garcia is “the entire basis for the agreement we have reached”, the spokesman said, adding: “It is the only way to ensure that the base remains secure and operational for the long-term.”

He continued: “We have always said this is a deal we are doing in the interests of not only our national security, but that of our closest ally in the US, and that’s why we have sought and received US approval for the deal over many months, spanning different US administrations, and it’s why we are continuing to work with them on the agreement.”

The Times has reported Mr Trump’s latest U-turn on his previous support for the agreement is because of Britain’s refusal to give the White House the green light to use the base or RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire for a potential military campaign against Iran.

The Government’s position is said to be due to concerns over a breach of international law, which does not distinguish between a nation carrying out an attack and one that provides support with “knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act”.

Asked about the reports, the Prime Minister’ spokesman said: “As a matter of long-standing principle we never comment on operational matters. There’s a political process ongoing between the US and Iran, which the UK supports. Iran must never be able to develop a nuclear weapon and our priority is security in the region.

“The US is the UK’s principal defence and security partner. The depth of our defence relationship with the US remains an essential part of our security.”

The US president is weighing fresh military action against the Islamic Republic, with a second American warship moving into the region and warnings that he could go ahead if no deal on its nuclear programme is reached.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper met with US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Friday in Washington DC, when they discussed the Chagos deal.