Donald Trump has unleashed on the UK’s plans to handover the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, calling the move an ‘act of great stupidity’.
The US president said the UK was ‘giving away extremely important land’ despite signing off on the plan last year.
The agreement with Mauritius would see the UK give up control of the islands, in the Indian Ocean, while paying to maintain control of the joint US-UK military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, under a 99-year lease.
The handover has already come under criticism by both Conservative and Reform MPs, who have argued it weakened British interests on a global scale and handed a victory to China.
Trump has now echoed those concerns in a scathing attack on British government.
He wrote on Truth Social: ‘Shockingly, our “brilliant” NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
‘There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.
‘These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before.
‘The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING.’
The US leader contradicted his initial support for deal in February last year, when he said in the Oval Office he was ‘included to go along’ with the idea.
A couple months later, he then gave the deal the green light, the prime minister’s spokesman suggested at the time.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
