𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Donald Trump could buy the Chagos Islands if Sir Keir Starmer’s deal collapses, according to reports. A US official said the idea should be “taken seriously” after ministers insisted it would not happen.

In May last year, Britain agreed to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The stalled deal involves paying eye-watering sums to lease back the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia for 99 years.

The Government has insisted the pact is needed to guarantee the future of the Diego Garcia base after an advisory International Court of Justice ruling in 2019 backed Mauritian claims to sovereignty over the islands.

But the plan has come under intense criticism from opposition parties, as well as Mr Trump.

The US President has branded the agreement as “a big mistake” and “a very woke thing”.

He wrote on his Truth Social platform in January: “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. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.

“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”

More recently, Mr Trump he was “very disappointed” in the Prime Minister for initially refusing to allow the use of the UK-US Diego Garcia base to target Iran.

Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer last week said: “I can’t see an option where the President buys the island.

“We’re committed to the deal that we have struck. It is one that we’ve done in close confrontation with our allies.”