US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo strongly criticized Sir Keir Starmer’s government over the recent Chagos Islands deal in a hard-hitting interview released just hours before Donald Trump’s arrival in the UK.
Speaking on The Ross Kempsell Report, Pompeo described National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell as “strategically an absolute fool,” warning that the decision could empower China. He stressed that while the islands are small and remote, they are strategically vital. According to Pompeo, failing to safeguard them could eventually allow Beijing to project military power into Europe, calling such a scenario “nuts.”
Pompeo also urged Sir Keir to reverse the £3.4 billion agreement with Mauritius, under which the UK handed sovereignty of the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius while keeping control of the Diego Garcia base through a 99-year lease costing £101 million annually. Starmer defended the arrangement, saying it was needed to shield the region from “malign influence.”
Mauritius hailed the deal as the completion of its decolonization process. Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam welcomed the agreement, which follows decades of disputes since the islands were separated from Mauritius in 1965 when it was still a British colony.
However, the deal has sparked fierce backlash within UK politics. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch branded it an “act of national self-harm,” claiming it weakens the UK’s defenses, plays into China’s hands, and disregards the Chagossian people’s views. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage echoed these concerns, calling the deal “unnecessary” and strategically damaging.
The Chagos Islands, located in the Indian Ocean, have long been a key hub for UK-US defense cooperation. The Diego Garcia base was built in the late 1960s after the forced removal of Chagossian islanders, a controversial decision that continues to shape the debate today.
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