A planned parliamentary debate on the UK’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has been delayed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer withdrew the Chagos Islands bill ahead of its scheduled Monday discussion in the House of Lords.
The Telegraph reported the delay followed warnings from Conservative lawmakers that the legislation could violate a 60-year-old US treaty.
The treaty enshrines British sovereignty over the archipelago while allowing continued US military use of Diego Garcia.
The debate reignited after former US President Donald Trump labelled the UK-Mauritius agreement “an act of great stupidity.”
Signed in May, the deal transfers sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius while preserving military base access for 99 years.
The agreement remains pending domestic ratification and has not yet officially entered into force in the UK.
Trump further argued on Truth Social that giving away the islands threatens national security and compared it to strategic interests in Greenland.
The Chagos Archipelago consists of seven atolls and more than 60 islands, located about 500 kilometres south of the Maldives.
France controlled the islands in the late 18th century, using African slaves on coconut plantations, before Britain took over in 1814.
In 1965, Britain separated the islands from Mauritius, which claims it was pressured to relinquish them before gaining independence in 1968.
The issue underscores long-standing tensions over colonial-era arrangements and strategic military interests in the Indian Ocean region.
