The UK government has been forced to shelve its legislation to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, after the US dropped its support for the agreement. However, earlier in February, Trump had described it as the “best” deal the prime minister could make in the circumstances. Under the deal, the UK would cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and lease the largest island of the archipelago, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating the joint military base there. Last month, Iran struck the joint military base after warning British lives were in danger, after Starmer authorised the US to carry out further strikes from British bases. Starmer has allowed US forced to use UK bases, such as Diego Garcia, only for defensive missions against Iran.

Source: The Irish Times April 11, 2026 13:43 UTC