Chief secretary to Keir Starmer insists that his relationship with the US president is ‘working’
The government has issued a statement defending the Chagos Islands deal in the light of the condemnation of it from Donald Trump. (See 8.52am.) A government spokesperson said:
The UK will never compromise on our national security. We acted because the base on Diego Garcia was under threat after court decisions undermined our position and would have prevented it operating as intended in future.
This deal secures the operations of the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia for generations, with robust provisions for keeping its unique capabilities intact and our adversaries out.
It has been publicly welcomed by the US, Australia and all other Five Eyes allies, as well as key international partners including India, Japan and South Korea.
