LONDON: The UK government said on Tuesday its deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius “secures” the future of a key US-UK military base on the Indian Ocean archipelago, after US President Donald Trump accused Britain of “great stupidity.”
The US president’s comments mark a major change of position for Trump, who previously endorsed the deal when it was signed in May 2025.
“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,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform earlier on Tuesday.
The harsh comments follow Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on Britain and other European countries for defending Greenland’s sovereignty from Washington.
The Chagos agreement will see Britain hand the archipelago to its former colony and pay to lease a key US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island, for a century.
