Trump signals US support for Chagos handover deal

Donald Trump has signalled that he now supports the UK's Chagos Islands handover deal, after launching a scathing attack on the agreement two weeks ago.

The US president had labelled the deal an "act of great stupidity," prompting fears he could withdraw his previous support for it.

But in a social media post on Thursday, he described Sir Keir Starmer's deal, announced last year, as the "best he could make".

Downing Street said Sir Keir had discussed the Chagos Islands with Trump earlier on Thursday, adding that the UK and US would "continue to work closely on the implementation of the deal".

The deal would see the UK transfer sovereignty of the islands whilst leasing back a joint UK-US military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia.

In a social media post, Trump warned the US could "militarily secure" the base on the island if the lease agreement "ever falls apart".

He added: "I will never allow our presence on a base as important as this to ever be undermined or threatened by fake claims or environmental nonsense".

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