UK government shelves Chagos Islands plan opposed by Trump

Alex Wickham, Bloomberg News on Apr 11, 2026

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The U.K. government put its plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands on hold after failing to win U.S. backing for the deal.

President Donald Trump in February said a plan to hand over the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of the joint U.S.-U.K. military base of Diego Garcia through a lease, was a “big mistake,” after previously supporting it.

While the U.K. has already signed the treaty with Mauritius, a bill to implement the handover has yet to complete its passage through Parliament, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has said it won’t implement the deal without the support of Washington.

Trump’s pivot follows a string of public disagreements between the two countries. Ties have worsened after Starmer refused to allow the U.S. to use British bases for its initial strikes against Iran during the early days of the war.

With time running out to pass the bill in the current Parliamentary session, the Chagos measure isn’t expected to feature in the King’s Speech, scheduled in May, the Times newspaper reported earlier.

“Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the U.K. and the US,” a government spokesperson said. “Ensuring its long-term operational security is and will continue to be our priority — it is the entire reason for the deal.

“We continue to believe the agreement is the best way to protect the long-term future of the base, but we have always said we would only proceed with the deal if it has U.S. support. We are continuing to engage with the U.S. and Mauritius,” the spokesperson added.

The Chagos deal has also been attacked at home by the opposition, including the Conservatives and Reform. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the cancellation of the plan was “another damning indictment a prime minister who fought to hand over British sovereign territory and pay £35 billion to use a crucial military base which was already ours.”

The failure to conclude a deal will result in a 10 billion-rupee ($215 million shortfall in Mauritius’s budget in the year through June, Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said in March.

“We are dependent on the Anglo-American relations,” Mauritian Attorney General Gavin Glover said in response to a request for comment on Saturday. “However, I wish to add that even if this law is not in the King’s speech in May, it doesn’t mean that the bill cannot be brought back to parliament again.”

Mauritius will hold talks with U.K. officials on April 22 to discuss the issue, he said.

(Kamlesh Bhuckory contributed to this report.)