Trump is right: the Chagos surrender deal is madness, writes James Hanson

The British government’s deal with Mauritius to hand over the Chagos Islands is madness. In fact, it’s more than that - it’s a betrayal of the Chagossians and an act of staggering national self-sabotage.

As the US President celebrates a year back in the White House, it is easy to dismiss his every utterance as the dangerous ramblings of an increasingly deranged autocrat. But like the proverbial broken clock, every so often he is correct. This is one such occasion.

Amid the righteous indignation about Trump’s threats towards Greenland, we should take his warnings about the Chagos Islands seriously. Posting on Truth Social, the US President claimed the handover was an act of ‘great stupidity’ and that China and Russia would see it as an “act of total weakness”.

Let’s be clear about what the Chagos deal involves. The British taxpayer is being asked to pay billions of pounds to give up our own sovereign territory. Sir Keir Starmer has previously claimed the cost of the deal is £3.4bn, but a Freedom of Information request last year revealed the true cost is almost £35bn. And this at a time when Rachel Reeves is desperately trying to save money!

Furthermore, the Chagos Islands aren’t just a bunch of random tropical islands in the middle of nowhere. They’re one of the UK’s most strategically valuable military assets. Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands, is home to a joint UK-US military base. Starmer claims this deal allows Britain to lease the base back for the next 99 years - but why should we pay to use something we already own?

Then there’s the China factor. There’s a dark irony to the fact that Trump’s intervention comes on the day the UK has approved the highly controversial new Chinese super embassy in London. Mauritius is a key ally of Beijing, and with China’s only military base in the Indian Ocean currently in the east African country of Djibouti, it is not outlandish to imagine a scenario in which Xi Jinping’s attentions turn to Chagos.

Those who claim the terms of the handover deal would proscribe such advances should remember Hong Kong. When sovereignty was ceded by Britain in 1997, the Chinese agreed to maintain freedoms and the “one country, two systems” approach for 50 years. Beijing’s flagrant breach of that deal should give the Labour government pause for thought over Chagos.

And what about the locals? We cannot condemn Trump for ignoring the wishes of ordinary Greenlanders, whilst simultaneously ignoring the concerns of the Chagossians, who have consistently opposed this deal, arguing it impacts their British citizenship as well as their rights to return home.

The first minister of the Chagossian government-in-exile has even complained there’s been no consultation with the UK government and they were ignored in the negotiation process. What right do we have to lecture Trump about the self-determination of the Greenlanders, while betraying British citizens in such a way?

The Prime Minister argues he has no choice but to do a deal with Mauritius because of the threat of legal challenges through the United Nations. I’m afraid this is Starmer the lawyer at his worst. Mauritius can launch as many legal challenges as it likes, but the UK government is elected to serve Britain’s national interest, and the Chagos surrender deal does no such thing. On this, Donald Trump is on the money.

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