The Mauritian Prime Minister travelled to London to discuss the deal after it became a key point at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last month.

At a bilateral meeting of Andy Burnham and Donald Trump, the President said the much-maligned deal was “terrible“, and highlighted the strategic importance of joint military base Diego Garcia during the Iran war.

“It’s strategically very important,” he said. “Very important. We had to send our B2 bombers when we bombed the Iran nuclear [sites], we had to send the B2 bombers back home to Missouri, as opposed to flying for a short period of time.”

Wes Streeting, the Defence Secretary has admitted it was unlikely the deal could be carried out without the support of Mr Trump, but said the Government “remains committed to the agreement“.

At last week’s meeting, the Mauritian Prime Minister “stressed” that his country’s claim to the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including Diego Garcia, was “not negotiable”, according to The Telegraph.

He also claimed the “non-ratification of the treaty to date, rendered the present status quo untenable”.

Mauritian cabinet ministers were briefed on the meeting and told their Prime Minister, Mr Ramgoolam, made it clear to the UK that while diplomatic talks would continue “it would be inevitable that Mauritius would take the legal route unless the matter was expeditiously resolved”.

During his trip to London, the Mauritian Prime Minister also met with his legal team to finalise a legal strategy.

At the UNGA, the island country’s Foreign Minister, Dhananjay Ramful, told the hall trust was “reinforced” when the UK follows international bodies, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s advisory opinion, which “carries authoritative obligations”.

On September 21 – before the UNGA – Mr Burnham had a call with his Mauritian counterpart and “underlined his commitment to working with Mauritius and the United States on a way forward that secures the operation of the base and protects UK national security”, according to a No10 readout.

But despite the commitment from the Prime Minister, Whitehall officials are concerned there is no diplomatic resolution to appease both Mauritius and the White House.

Instead, Mr Burnham is planning to wait out Mr Trump’s presidency to cede the strategically important islands to Mauritius, handing £35billion in cash terms to the country to loan back the base for 99 years.

British opponents of the deal include leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage and the Conservatives.

Mr Farage has previously told GB News that Mr Burnham should have kicked off his bilateral meeting with Mr Trump by saying: “we’re not going to give away the Chagos Islands to a Chinese influence, Mauritius“.

And Dame Priti Patel, the former Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: “Rather than sucking up to Mauritius any further, if Labour believes in our national security, they would defend British sovereignty and scrap their £35billion surrender treaty.

“Instead they continue to follow in Sir Keir Starmer’s footsteps with this reckless surrender of a sovereign territory, while putting our national security at risk. This madness must end.”

A Foreign Office spokesman told The Telegraph: “Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US, and is vital to our shared national security. Maintaining its long-term operation has been the UK’s driving objective since negotiations began in 2022.

“We have always been clear that an agreement with Mauritius must protect UK interests and command US support.

“As the PM has said, we continue to work with both the US and Mauritius to find a diplomatic resolution.”

Mauritius Threatens to Sue Britain Over Chagos Islands as Prime Minister Declares Sovereignty ‘Non-Negotiable’

Mauritius has threatened to take Britain to court over the future of the Chagos Islands, escalating a diplomatic dispute that has placed the UK government’s plans for the strategically important Indian Ocean archipelago under renewed pressure.

Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam has insisted that his country’s claim to sovereignty is “non-negotiable”, warning that legal action remains an option if negotiations with Britain fail to produce a resolution. The dispute has intensified after opposition from US President Donald Trump stalled an agreement designed to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius while preserving the long-term operation of the joint British-American military base on Diego Garcia.

The confrontation presents a difficult challenge for the British government. It must balance the legal and diplomatic arguments surrounding the islands’ status with the strategic importance of Diego Garcia, which provides the United States and Britain with a significant military presence in the Indian Ocean.

For Mauritius, the issue concerns sovereignty, the completion of decolonisation and the long-running dispute over territory separated from the country before independence. For Britain and the United States, the central concern is maintaining secure and uninterrupted access to a military installation used for operations across a strategically important region.

The dispute has now reached a point where the possibility of renewed international legal proceedings is becoming increasingly significant. <Cite refs={[“turn517633news1″,”turn517633search5”]}/>

Mauritius Says Its Sovereignty Claim Cannot Be Compromised

Ramgoolam has made clear that Mauritius does not regard sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago as an issue that can simply be set aside to accommodate political disagreements in Washington or London.

During discussions with British officials, the Mauritian government has pressed for progress on the agreement reached in 2025. According to reporting published on 11 October 2026, Ramgoolam warned that Mauritius was prepared to pursue legal action if the deadlock was not resolved promptly.

The warning represents a significant escalation because the two countries had already spent years negotiating a settlement intended to resolve their longstanding dispute. Rather than continuing indefinitely with an agreement that remains unimplemented, Mauritius is signalling that it may return to legal avenues to advance its claim.

The Mauritian position draws on a history that stretches back to the period before the country’s independence in 1968. Britain separated the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, retaining control of the islands as the British Indian Ocean Territory. Diego Garcia subsequently became the site of a joint UK-US military facility.

Mauritius has consistently argued that the separation was unlawful and that sovereignty should be restored. Its position received significant international legal support in 2019, when the International Court of Justice concluded in an advisory opinion that the decolonisation of Mauritius had not been lawfully completed following the separation of the archipelago.

The court called on Britain to bring its administration of the islands to an end as rapidly as possible. Although an advisory opinion is distinct from a binding judgment in a contentious case between two states, it has played an important role in shaping the international legal debate over the islands. <Cite refs={[“turn517633search5″,”turn517633news2”]}/>