Starmer Quietly Scraps the Chagos Deal

TL;DR

The UK's Chagos Islands sovereignty deal collapsed because Trump withdrew US support, and without it, the required legal agreement cannot proceed.

Key Points

• 1.Britain's forced removal of Chagossians was ruled unlawful. The UK forcibly expelled all island residents between 1967–1972 after paying £600,000 to plantation owners, and in 2019 the UN's ICJ ruled the separation from Mauritius was unlawful.
• 2.The deal originated from US pressure under Biden, not British initiative. Biden's administration feared losing the Diego Garcia air base to international court rulings, and senior White House and State Department officials warned Labour that refusing to hand over the islands would jeopardize the special relationship.
• 3.Trump's opposition killed the deal despite initially supporting it. Trump told Starmer the deal would 'work out very well' at their first White House meeting, but by 2026 reversed course, calling it 'an act of great stupidity,' likely fearing Mauritius could allow China to spy on the base.
• 4.The deal legally requires US consent under a 1966 agreement. The original UK-US exchange of letters states the territory 'shall remain under United Kingdom sovereignty,' meaning any sovereignty transfer requires a new formal US-UK agreement — which Trump won't sign.
• 5.Starmer has run out of parliamentary time to pass the Chagos Bill. With parliament proroguing in early May 2025 and no new US-UK exchange of letters forthcoming, the government has shelved the deal, stating it will only proceed 'if it has US support.'