UK’s ‘stupid’ Chagos deal among reasons Donald Trump says he wants Greenland

Donald Trump has lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer over the “act of great stupidity” in giving up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands which include the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

The US president said handing the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius was a sign of “total weakness” by the UK.

The UK Government has agreed to hand over the islands but will pay billions of pounds to lease back the strategically important Diego Garcia base.

Ministers have claimed the deal is necessary because international court rulings in favour of Mauritian claims to sovereignty had threatened the future of the base.

In an extraordinary attack on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.

“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”

He highlighted the decision as a reason for his continued pursuit of Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”

Mr Trump’s strident criticism of the Chagos deal came as legislation to finalise the agreement is caught in a wrangle between the Lords and the Commons.

It caught No 10 off guard as Mr Trump had previously welcomed the agreement with Mauritius as a “monumental achievement” which the US viewed as securing the long-term future of the Diego Garcia facility.

Exactly a year after his inauguration, Mr Trump’s strident criticism of the UK’s policy comes after Sir Keir has sought to build a close relationship with the US president.

Opponents of the Chagos deal welcomed Mr Trump’s intervention, which they claimed could derail the agreement between the UK and Mauritius.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Paying to surrender the Chagos Islands is not just an act of stupidity, but of complete self sabotage.

“I’ve been clear and unfortunately on this issue President Trump is right. Keir Starmer’s plan to give away the Chagos Islands is a terrible policy that weakens UK security and hands away our sovereign territory. And to top it off, makes us and our Nato allies weaker in face of our enemies.”

She said Sir Keir now has the change to “change course on Chagos”.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said Mr Trump had “vetoed the surrender of the Chagos islands”.

The Government signed a treaty in May 2025 to return sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, following long-running negotiations started under the previous Tory administration after a 2019 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice said the UK should cede control.

As well as establishing a £40 million fund for Chagossians expelled from the islands, the UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million annually during the 99-year agreement, with the total cost in nominal terms set to reach around £35 billion over the period.

Legislation to implement the treaty has been approved by MPs but has faced a bruising ride in the House of Lords as peers extensively rewrote it.

The Commons will consider the changes made by the peers on Tuesday but Mr Trump’s intervention will cast a shadow over Parliament’s discussions.

A Government spokesman said: “The UK will never compromise on our national security. We acted because the base on Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and would have prevented it operating as intended in future.

“This deal secures the operations of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.

“It has been publicly welcomed by the US, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies, as well as key international partners including India, Japan and South Korea.”