UK's Chagos Islands deal could still fall through after US Congress appeals for new powers
A proposal has been put forward which could hand Washington a veto over any transfer of sovereignty
The US could be granted powers to sink the UK's Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius after a senator put forward a new proposal.
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If approved, the White House could officially block any transfer of sovereignty under a veto passed through Congress.
Sir Keir Starmer's agreement to hand the land to Mauritius has been met with criticism by Donald Trump who previously said the Prime Minister was "making a big mistake".
As part of the deal, the UK would lease back the archipelago’s largest military base, Diego Garcia, for the next 99 years.
Republican senator John Kennedy submitted the proposal to Congress on Friday, which would hand Washington an effective veto over any transfer of sovereignty.
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The Diego Garcia Oversight Act requires consent of the US Senate for any changes to the 1966 treaty that grants Britain and the United States the right to use the base.
It would also require Downing Street to submit a report to Congress outlining the national security reasons for any change to the treaty, The Telegraph reports.
Last month, Trump warned the UK that the deal risks the future of Diego Garcia in a post on his Truth Social platform.
He wrote: "Our relationship with the United Kingdom is a strong and powerful one, and it has been for many years, but prime minister [sic] Starmer is losing control of this important Island [sic] by claims of entities never known of before.
"In our opinion, they are fictitious in nature."
Despite the President's recent comments, the US Government previously backed the agreement.
In a statement issued last month, the US State Department said it "supports the decision of the United Kingdom to proceed with its agreement with Mauritius concerning the Chagos archipelago".
But on Friday, Kennedy, who is said to be a close ally of Trump, said: "When two countries shake hands on a treaty, one of them can’t start changing the terms without the other country agreeing to it.
"That’s just common sense. That’s why I take issue with the United Kingdom trying to give our joint military base on Diego Garcia to a pal of Xi Jinping’s – all without getting the US Senate’s consent.
"My bill would make sure that our friends in the UK don’t modify our treaty and hand this gift to China without giving the Senate a say."
After the Middle East war on Iran broke out on February 28, Trump has said he was "very disappointed" in Sir Keir for initially blocking the US from using Diego Garcia to strike Iran.
"That’s probably never happened between our countries before. It sounds like he was worried about the legality," he told The Telegraph.
He added: "All of a sudden [Mauritius] was claiming ownership. He should have fought it out and owned it or make him take it, if you want to know the truth. But no, we were very disappointed in Keir."