The US President has criticised the UK Government's plans to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

14:40, Wed, Feb 25, 2026 Updated: 14:41, Wed, Feb 25, 2026

Sir Keir Starmer

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)

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The UK is "pausing" the Chagos Islands deal after Donald Trump's latest criticism.

Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer told the Commons that following interventions from the US "we are now discussing those concerns with the United States directly".

He said while the US had expressed support for the agreement between the UK and Mauritius when it was signed last year "there clearly has been a statement from the president of the United States more recently, which is very significant".

He added: "We have a process going through parliament in relation to the treaty.

"We will bring that back to parliament at the appropriate time. We are pausing for discussions with our American counterparts."

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