“ACT OF STUPIDITY”: Trump Nukes Starmer’s Chagos Surrender as Farage Says Deal Is Finished

Summary: Donald Trump has blasted Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal as an “act of GREAT STUPIDITY”, warning it signals “total weakness” and claiming it strengthens his case for acquiring Greenland. Nigel Farage says the handover has “sunk below the waterline”, while Conservatives demand Labour “scrap” the agreement as a national security risk.

Trump detonates the UK’s Chagos defence

Donald Trump has launched his sharpest attack yet on Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, with the UK then renting back Diego Garcia, home to a key UK-US military base.

Posting on Truth Social on Tuesday, the US President framed the deal as a strategic blunder and linked it directly to his escalating pressure campaign over Greenland.

“Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ Nato ally – the United Kingdom – is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US military base, to Mauritius.”

“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.”

Downing Street has argued the agreement is the only durable route to protect the base and close off long-running legal and diplomatic challenges around the territory’s status.

Farage: “No legal thought whatsoever”

Nigel Farage said the deal is now politically and strategically untenable, arguing the Government’s line about prior US approval has collapsed under Trump’s latest intervention.

“The Chagos deal has sunk below the waterline.”

“The transfer of the islands has had no legal thought whatsoever, and they can clearly see the threat to their most important military base in the world outside mainland USA.”

The Reform UK leader also suggested his own warnings about Diego Garcia, made amid the Greenland row, are now being vindicated by events.

Tories seize the moment as Labour scrambles to hold the line

Kemi Badenoch backed Trump’s criticism and accused Labour of undermining British security while paying heavily for the privilege.

“Paying to surrender the Chagos Islands is not just an act of stupidity, but of complete self-sabotage.”

“Keir Starmer’s plan to give away the Chagos Islands is a terrible policy that weakens UK security and hands away our sovereign territory.”

Dame Priti Patel also urged Starmer to abandon the agreement, describing it as a costly “surrender” deal that should be stopped.

Labour’s defence: base secured, legal risks reduced

Labour ministers insist the practical outcome is continuity of operations at Diego Garcia, with the base secured for the long term while the UK addresses historical and legal pressure tied to the islands’ status.

“We’ve secured the islands there as a military base for the next 100 years.”

Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, said the deal had been welcomed by the previous US administration and other allies at the time and argued it protects Britain’s strategic footprint.

“The United States is an ally. Our economy and our military and security capabilities are intertwined. We have to protect British interests.”

Greenland tariffs, Davos, and the wider pressure campaign

Trump’s Chagos blast landed as he intensifies threats of tariffs against Britain and other Nato allies over Greenland, with a proposed 10 per cent export tax from February and a higher rate later in the year unless his demands are met.

Both Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly insisted Greenland is not for sale. But Trump has said the issue will be pushed at Davos, and he has published private messages from international leaders as part of a public pressure strategy.

Labour MP Emily Thornberry dismissed the episode as “presidential trolling”, urging the UK to stay calm while taking Trump “seriously” even if not “literally”.

What this means for Britain

For Starmer, the political problem is simple: Downing Street sold the Chagos deal as “allies approved” insurance for Diego Garcia. Trump has now torn up that protective shield in public.

For Brexit Britain, this is a hard lesson in leverage. When the White House chooses to turn security and trade into bargaining chips, weak paperwork and wishful thinking do not survive contact with reality.