Keir Starmer: Trump’s Chagos deal U-turn is about pressuring UK over Greenland

Sir Keir Starmer accused Donald Trump of changing his stance on the UK’s Chagos Islands deal with “the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain” over the Government’s position on Greenland.

The Prime Minister vowed he would not “yield” after the US president branded the agreement to cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory an “act of great stupidity” in a series of social media posts.

Sir Keir told MPs at Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions: “President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House.

“He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland”.

The Prime Minister added: “He wants me to yield on my position, and I’m not going to do so.”

The Republican president’s attack on the Chagos deal caught Downing Street off guard after he previously welcomed as a “monumental achievement” securing the long-term future of the Diego Garcia facility.

It has further strained the relationship Sir Keir has carefully cultivated in a week Mr Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on allies objecting to his plans to annex Greenland.

The Prime Minister accused Kemi Badenoch of backing “arguments intended to undermine” the UK’s position on Greenland, after the Conservative Party leader repeated Mr Trump’s words lambasting the Chagos deal she strongly opposes.

“The Prime Minister is giving away territory we own and paying £35 billion for the privilege,” Mrs Badenoch said, adding that the money should instead go towards the armed forces.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration ramped up its criticism of the plan to hand over the islands, which include the UK-US Diego Garcia military base, to Mauritius.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent accused the UK of “letting us down” and suggested Britain would “outsource” national security by transferring sovereignty.

He told a press conference in Davos, Switzerland: “President Trump has made it clear that we will not outsource our national security or our hemispheric security to any other countries.

“Our partner, the UK, is letting us down with the base on Diego Garcia, which we had shared together for many, many years, and they want to turn it over to Mauritius.”

Mr Bessent, the White House’s chief economic spokesman, also said there were “glitches” in the UK-US trade deal and that no more trade talks were scheduled between the two countries.

The Chagos agreement is intended to provide a firm legal basis for the operation of the strategically important Diego Garcia facility.

Ministers have said the deal is necessary because international court rulings in favour of Mauritian claims to sovereignty had threatened the future of the base.

Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday: “Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ Nato ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US military base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.

“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”

He highlighted the decision as a reason for his continued pursuit of Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark.

“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”

The Trump broadside came as legislation to finalise the agreement is caught in a wrangle between the Lords and the Commons.

Downing Street refused to say that the US no longer supports the UK’s Chagos Islands deal, insisting “our Five Eyes allies support it” despite Mr Trump explicitly confirming he was “against” the plans in a press conference on Tuesday night.

Pressed on whether No 10 accepted the deal was dead without American backing, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “As the public would rightly expect, we’ve negotiated robust security provisions to protect the UK and the base for decades to come.

“As I said yesterday, our Five Eyes allies support it, and the passage of the Bill continues through Parliament.”