Former Attorney General Lord Hermer has asserted that former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his support for the planned transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius following the United Kingdom’s refusal to participate in military actions against Iran. The deal, which involved handing sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius while the UK would retain use of Diego Garcia, a strategically important U.S. air base, has effectively collapsed due to opposition from the White House.
The agreement, negotiated under Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, included a £3.7 billion arrangement for leasing back Diego Garcia, located in the Indian Ocean. Lord Hermer, who served as Starmer’s chief legal adviser during negotiations, said the U.S. initially backed the deal but changed its position after the UK declined a U.S. request to use Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford as launch points for air strikes against Iran.
Speaking to Times Radio, Lord Hermer said, “There was obviously a change in view by the US administration, by President Trump. They were very supportive of it to begin with. Then following the decisions that we took not to join them in their Iran endeavour, there was a change from President Trump.” He added that British decisions were intended to safeguard the long-term future of the base, citing its national security importance.
The Chagos Islands handover had been pursued following a 2019 non-binding advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, which supported Mauritius’s sovereignty claims over the archipelago. The islands, despite being about 1,300 miles from Mauritius—further than other nearby territories—have been under British control since the 1960s, with the United States maintaining a military base on Diego Garcia.
UK government officials had argued that transferring sovereignty was necessary to protect the base’s future amid legal challenges. However, opposition MPs criticized this rationale, accusing Lord Hermer of an excessive reliance on international legal opinions that, in their view, unnecessarily endangered UK interests.
Former President Trump publicly condemned the proposed deal in February, describing it as an “act of great stupidity.” Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, he warned that the U.S. might need to use Diego Garcia for strikes against Iran and urged the UK not to relinquish control under “a tenuous, at best, 100-year lease.” He further stressed the importance of maintaining full sovereignty over the islands, characterizing the issue as a test of the UK’s resolve.
The deal’s collapse marks a rare direct public intervention from Lord Hermer, who had maintained a low profile since leaving office amid controversy during his ministerial tenure. With the agreement now stalled, the future status of the Chagos Islands and the strategic base remains uncertain, complicated by divergent UK domestic priorities and shifting U.S. foreign policy under the previous administration.