Donald Trump hits out at Keir Starmer as US president backtracks over Chagos Islands deal

He's let his thoughts be known

The Chagos Islands are a group of around 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, halfway between East Africa and Indonesia.

Officially the term for the area is the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) which is important to both the US and UK due to a shared military base on the island of Diego Garcia.

However, in recent years, international pressure had been mounting on the UK to give control of the islands to Mauritius which has historically claimed sovereignty over the islands.

In 2025, the UK agreed to hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius with a deal to maintain a UK-US base for 99 years.

The UK agreed a deal in 2025 to hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, with a lease agreement over 99 years to keep a UK-US military base in the territory.

The UK government would effectively be renting the base for £101m a year which would total £3.4bn by the end of the lease.

The deal split opinion, with many noting China's growing influence in Mauritius as a reason to not go through with the deal.

While it had been reported that the US and Trump were happy with the deal, the US president has just come out to lambast the British PM through his usual channel of communication, Truth Social.

Trump wrote on Wednesday night (18 Jan): "I have been telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the United Kingdom, that Leases are no good when it comes to Countries, and that he is making a big mistake by entering a 100 Year Lease with whoever it is that is “claiming” Right, Title, and Interest to Diego Garcia, strategically located in the Indian Ocean.

"Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but Prime Minister Starmer is losing control of this important Island by claims of entities never known of before. In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature.

"Should Iran decide not to make a Deal, it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia, and the Airfield located in Fairford, in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous Regime — An attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly Countries.

"Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100 Year Lease.

"This land should not be taken away from the U.K. and, if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our Great Ally.

"We will always be ready, willing, and able to fight for the U.K., but they have to remain strong in the face of Wokeism, and other problems put before them.

"DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!"