Trump team want guarantee Chagos won't change hands.before January inauguration

Donald Trump’s team are seeking assurances that the controversial deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius will not be completed before his inauguration in January.

- DAVID MADDOX, MILLIE COOKE

The Independent recently revealed that the president-elect is looking for ways to veto the agreement because of concerns over its security implications in the Indian Ocean with the crucial joint UK/US base on Diego Garcia. There are also concerns that the deal struck by Sir Keir Starmer and foreign secretary David Lammy will allow China access to the islands to build their own rival base.

The deal, which has the blessing of outgoing US president Joe Biden, was not meant to be completed until the spring. But the UK prime minister’s envoy Jonathan Powell, who is set to be the national security adviser, was flying to Mauritius yesterday for talks with its prime minister to complete the deal.

The talks are being described as “a crucial working meeting” with “the objective of deepening the discussions and finalis[ing] the ends of the Anglo-Mauritian treaty on the Chagos Archipelago, as well as the details of the 99-year lease for the American military base in Diego Garcia”.