Trump criticizes Britain’s transfer of Chagos Islands, embarrassing Starmer

On Jan. 20, 2026, President Trump accused Britain of "an act of great stupidity" for agreeing to end British sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, a comment that the report said was a blow to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s attempts to cultivate the president. The comments reversed the Trump administration’s previous policy over the Chagos Islands, the report said.

In 2024 Mr. Starmer’s government agreed to relinquish control of the islands to Mauritius after a ruling by the United Nations’ highest court that found Britain had acted unlawfully by detaching the archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain, is the site of a major military base used by Britain and the United States; under the terms of the deal the United States and Britain could continue to operate the base for an initial period of 99 years.

At the time Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised the deal and said that Mr. Trump had "expressed his support for this monumental achievement," which "reflects the enduring strength of the US-UK relationship," the outlet said. In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday morning, Mr. Trump wrote: "Shockingly, our "brilliant" NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Chagos Islands, Diego Garcia, Keir Starmer, Mauritius