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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer faces humiliation this week if a campaign to “once and for all” kill off his plan to “surrender” sovereignty of the Chagos Islands triumphs. Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel will arrive in Washington DC this weekend on a mission to derail “an appalling act of betrayal”, which is fiercely opposed by Donald Trump.

She will meet with senior figures in the Trump administration, and she insists the “surrender cannot proceed without American support”. Sir Keir is now facing transatlantic demands to scrap the deal to hand Mauritius sovereignty of the islands, which are home to the UK-US Diego Garcia airbase. The effort comes as the US prepares for a potential military strike against Iran if the regime refuses to abandon its nuclear programme.

The US president’s latest denunciation of Sir Keir’s plan was reportedly in response to Britain withholding permission for the US to use Diego Garcia or RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire in an attack on Iran.

The Indian Ocean base is of strategic importance because it is outside the range of Iran’s missiles and has a long enough runway for heavy bombers.

Dame Priti told the Sunday Express that the Chagos deal is a “serious threat” to the national security of both the UK and the US.

She said: “President Trump has humiliated Starmer once again by calling out the surrender, which has damaged the special relationship, just like all the many other examples of Starmer’s pathetic kowtowing to China.

“I am going to Washington to promote Britain’s national interest, and I will do everything I can to kill the Chagos surrender once and for all.

“I will be raising it with senior officials in the administration, because the surrender cannot proceed without American support.

“The Americans see us as a less reliable and less trustworthy ally under Labour, a perception compounded by the recent dispute over the hypothetical use of Diego Garcia if needed against the Iranian regime.

“Starmer’s attempts to take us into the EU by the backdoor send a further signal to the Americans that our attentions are elsewhere.”

Urging Labour to U-turn, she said: “They cannot expect even their own MPs to vote for when it lacks American support. Starmer should face reality and scrap it.”

Former prime minister and Liz Truss, who recently met with the US president, told the Sunday Express the deal should be abandoned and the UK should support American efforts to “take on” Iran.

She said: “Following President Trump’s decisive intervention, the Labour Government’s shameful Chagos deal needs to be ripped up once and for all.

“Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Hermer are part of a cabal of human rights lawyers worshipping at the altar of defunct international law who will do anything to undermine Britain and the West.

“We should stop following the edicts of this corrupt international court and instead work with the Americans to take on dangerous regimes like Iran.”

Fellow former PM Boris Johnson has reportedly lobbied against the deal with Mr Trump.

Former defence secretary Dame Penny Mordaunt launched a full-throttle attack on the deal with Mauritius, claiming it would “destroy every necessary element of military operations”, jeopardising secrecy and “control over the electromagnetic spectrum”.

She told the Sunday Express: “I do not believe this completeness of this destruction of our capabilities is an accident. It must be stopped and I thank the many good people who are working to do that, and see it for what it really is: betrayal.”

Alan Mendoza, co-founder of the Henry Jackson Society, a leading foreign policy think tank, said the base was important in countering threats posed by both China and Iran.

He said: “The British Government needs to take a step back from its myopic fixation with giving Mauritius the Chagos Islands and look to the bigger picture. Our key ally, the USA, has identified China correctly as a strategic threat to us all. Meanwhile, the US is also poised to strike a blow against the international security threat posed by Iran.

“The Diego Garcia base is central to both missions and we should be joining the US in protecting our own interests by ending the debate about who should own the Chagos Islands. It’s British territory for impeccable military reasons.”

Richard Ekins, a legal expert with the Policy Exchange think tank, said: “The Iran crisis has brought home the strategic importance of the Chagos Islands. The US cannot strike Iran from Diego Garcia without UK consent and, as Policy Exchange has repeatedly warned, handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius will sharply limit the UK’s freedom to consent.

“If the Government presses ahead with the surrender of the Chagos to Mauritius in the face of American opposition, the UK will be in breach of the 1966 treaty with the US and will have needlessly degraded a critical strategic asset – inflicting major damage on our most important alliance.”

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A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “The Government inherited a situation where UK sovereignty over the Chagos Islands was under threat. Maintaining control of Diego Garcia is the entire basis for the agreement we have reached.

“It is the only way to ensure that the base remains secure and operational for the long term. The deal would enable the UK and US to operate the base just as it always has for generations to come.

“Under this Government, the UK-US relationship has continued to go from strength to strength – including securing a landmark economic deal and a record £150billion of inward investment from US companies.”

Earlier this month, Mr Trump gave his blessing to the deal – which would see the UK lease back the base for 99 years – saying it was the “best” Sir Keir could make. But on Wednesday, he warned the deal would be a “blight on our great ally” and told Sir Keir in a public social media message: “Do not give away Diego Garcia!”

Last year, then-foreign secretary David Lammy acknowledged the US had a de facto veto on the arrangement with Mauritius, saying that “of course they’ve got to be happy with the deal or there is no deal”.