Trump aide brands UK plan to hand over Chagos Islands ‘calamitous’

A senior aide to Donald Trump has reinforced reports that the new president is determined to block Britain’s plan to hand over the Chagos Islands, describing the plan as calamitous.

In a series of withering remarks, Robert Wilkie - tasked to implement the president’s foreign policy - said the decision was “haphazard”, arguing that “not much thought” had been put into it.

He said the islands were a vital part of the UK-US “united front” on defence.

The comments underline claims - first reported by The Independent - that Mr Trump aims to veto the controversial deal approved by Sir Keir Starmer.

It comes as the UK attempts to renegotiate the deal previously agreed with Mauritius after the newly elected administration raised objections to the original agreement.

Foreign secretary David Lammy had agreed a deal with Mauritius, but following a change of government there, the new Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam rejected it as “not good enough” and demanded more concessions from the UK.

A senior Mauritian government source told The Independent that a “final draft” of a revised Chagos agreement is now on the table. A second source said the final version of the deal is now awaiting final approval from the Trump administration in the US, after Sir Keir agreed to put the Chagos decision on hold to allow the new president to consider the matter.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said it is “obviously now right” for Trump’s administration to consider any deal.

Critics of the agreement are concerned about the future of the joint UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia, and also the potential for China to gain access to the islands.

Mr Wilkie, head of Trump’s transition team at the Pentagon, which controls US foreign policy, said of Britain’s decision to give the Chagos Islands, which includes the Anglo-American defence base Diego Garcia, to Mauritius: “It was a calamitous decision.

“I don’t think there was much thought put into it. It was haphazard.

“They (Britain) are not thinking of the long term because if we are going to present a united front as the Anglosphere and as NATO, we have to be able to provide the strategic rationale for maintaining deterrence.

“And Diego Garcia was certainly one of those places they gave us that kind of leverage and platform to project power”, Mr Wilkie, who was the minister for veterans in Mr Trump’s first administration, told the BBC.

Mr Lammy has insisted that it is “a good deal” and that it secures the long-term future of the airbase. He has pointed out that the International Court of Justice ruled that the islands belong to Mauritius.

A joint statement released by the UK and Mauritius governments last week has said that “good progress” is being made in the talks.

An FCDO spokesperson said: “Given Diego Garcia’s status as a key strategic asset, it is right to discuss the agreement with the new US administration.

“This is an excellent deal that protects UK and US national security interests. It has been supported by all relevant US Departments and Agencies following a rigorous scrutiny process. We are confident that once the new US administration has been able to look at the deal it will want to see it concluded.”