UK's Chagos Islands deal descends into chaos after Trump's criticism

The British government was plunged into fresh uncertainty on Wednesday over its plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, home to the Diego Garcia military base, to Mauritius, after a minister suggested the legislative process had been paused.

Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister, told the House of Commons that the government was temporarily halting the legal steps needed to finalize the transfer of the strategically important archipelago. He said the confirmation of the agreement in law was being suspended pending further discussions with the United States.

However, Falconer's remarks were later contradicted by other government officials, who insisted that no such pause was in place.

According to the BBC, a government source said Falconer had "misspoken" during his Commons statement. The official emphasized that "there is no pause, we have never set a deadline and timings will be announced in the usual way."

The confusion follows comments last week by U.S. President Donald Trump, who urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to abandon the proposed sovereignty agreement, despite previously backing it.

Posting on the Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that "this land should not be taken away from the UK" and described the deal as "a blight on our great ally." He also referenced Iran, suggesting the United States might need to use the islands if negotiations with Tehran fail.

The Chagos Islands, located in the Indian Ocean, have been under British control since the early 19th century. Under the proposed agreement, the UK would transfer sovereignty to Mauritius while leasing back the joint UK-U.S. military base on Diego Garcia at an average annual cost of 101 million pounds.

The British government is currently working to pass legislation to ratify the deal, and Falconer faced questions in Parliament on Wednesday regarding the progress of that process.