UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has placed at least £120m in annual payments to Mauritius on hold as the government reviews its Chagos Islands deal, saying the agreement cannot proceed without US support after Donald Trump criticised it.
Key facts
- Annual payments worth at least £120m to Mauritius have been put on hold.
- Wes Streeting said the deal 'can't go ahead' without US support.
- The move follows Donald Trump calling the deal 'terrible' during a meeting with Andy Burnham.
- The Conservatives have urged the deal be scrapped entirely.
- The deal would give sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius while guaranteeing control of the Diego Garcia military base for at least 99 more years.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has said annual payments worth at least £120m to Mauritius are on hold as the government reconsiders its deal over the Chagos Islands, according to the Guardian. The announcement came after US President Donald Trump refused to back the agreement.
Streeting confirmed that the payments would not be made “at this stage” and said the deal “can’t go ahead without US support.” He added that the government would need to “get a deal to a place where it commands American support, as well as the agreement of the government of Mauritius and our government.”
The proposed deal would give sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in return for guaranteed control of the Diego Garcia military base for at least another 99 years, according to the Guardian.
The review follows Trump calling the deal “terrible” during a meeting with Andy Burnham. In light of the president’s comments, the Conservatives have urged Burnham to fully drop the proposed deal.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said in a statement that “it shouldn’t have taken another intervention from the president for Andy Burnham to ‘review’ Labour’s Chagos Surrender deal.” He argued that “if Burnham was really serious about our defence he would know that this deal should be binned entirely,” describing it as absurd to hand over British sovereign territory and “billions of pounds of hard-pressed taxpayers’ money, to an ally of China.”
The Guardian reported that the Conservatives say the deal should be fully scrapped following Trump’s criticism, while the government has framed its position as reviewing rather than abandoning the agreement.
Why it matters
Diego Garcia is a strategically significant military base, and the future of the Chagos Islands deal has become entangled in relations between the UK, US and Mauritius. The decision to pause substantial annual payments signals uncertainty over an agreement that carries both financial and national security implications for British taxpayers.
Frequently asked questions
Why are the payments to Mauritius on hold?
According to the Guardian, Wes Streeting said the annual payments worth at least £120m would not be made 'at this stage' as the government reconsiders the deal, after Donald Trump refused to back it.
What does the Chagos Islands deal involve?
The proposed deal would give sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius in return for guaranteed control of the Diego Garcia military base for at least another 99 years.
What do the Conservatives say about the deal?
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the deal should be 'binned entirely,' arguing it is absurd to hand over British sovereign territory and taxpayers' money to an ally of China.