- The government has denied that Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal has been “paused”, despite a Foreign Office minister’s earlier statement.
- Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer initially told MPs the government was “pausing” for discussions with the US before bringing the Bill to ratify the deal back to parliament.
- The Foreign Office later clarified that Mr Falconer “misspoke” and insisted there is no pause in the passage of the proposed legislation, stating discussions with the US are ongoing.
- This denial follows Donald Trump urging the prime minister to scrap the deal, branding it a “big mistake” due to concerns over the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
- The controversial deal, agreed by Sir Keir Starmer last year, involves handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining control of the military base, with the UK paying Mauritius at least £120m annually.
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