Washington has given its backing to the agreement only to withdraw it again – and then repeat the cycle
Just when Keir Starmer thought it was safe to go back into the water, Donald Trump has struck again with another public broadside against the UK’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Under the terms of the deal, the UK will give up control of the Chagos archipelago while paying to maintain control of a joint US-UK military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, under a 99-year lease.
The US president has played hokey cokey with his backing for the agreement, giving and withdrawing his support repeatedly over the last year.
Here we look at Washington’s meandering position:
