{"id":2566152,"date":"2026-02-06T15:54:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T20:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chagos-handover-in-limbo-after-bill-pulled-from-uk-parliament\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T16:01:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T21:01:45","slug":"chagos-handover-in-limbo-after-bill-pulled-from-uk-parliament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chagos-handover-in-limbo-after-bill-pulled-from-uk-parliament\/","title":{"rendered":"Chagos handover in limbo after bill pulled from UK Parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchagos-handover-in-limbo-after-bill-pulled-from-uk-parliament%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2566152&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Overview:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The Chagos Islands sovereignty dispute remains in limbo after Donald Trump softened his stance on a UK-Mauritius deal and a parliamentary vote was pulled from the calendar.<\/p>\n<p>Key points:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The proposed framework would transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing the Diego Garcia base to the UK and US for 99 years, with constraints on other nations\u2019 use and potential 40-year renewal talks.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Diego Garcia hosts about 4,000 military personnel and the deal is estimated to cost just under $50 billion over the next century.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Trump said he now understands the deal as \u201cthe best he could make\u201d but warned he would act to protect U.S.military operations if the lease ever compromised U.S. interests, including militarily reinforcing Diego Garcia if needed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and UK officials said they agreed on the importance of the deal for joint security, while the vote on the bill was postponed to February 23; a vote had been anticipated but was delayed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Former UK politician Andrew Rosindell, who chaired the British Indian Ocean Territory All-Party Parliamentary Group, defected to Reform UK, arguing for self-determination for Chagossians and suggesting ultimate sovereignty should rest with the Chagossian people.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The move has faced criticism, including from former U.S. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who called the deal a serious geostrategic mistake for perhaps allowing China greater influence.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; the Chagos Islands have a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/papa-john-says-pr-company-planted-racism-allegations-after-he-would-not-pay-6m\/\" title=\"\u2018Papa John\u2019 Says PR Company Planted Racism Allegations After He Would Not Pay M\">long-standing history<\/a>: they were separated from Mauritius in 1965, Diego Garcia hosts the joint US-UK base, and Mauritius has pursued the issue at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as 2018; thousands of Chagossians were displaced in the process.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The broader context remains contentious in Britain, with protests and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >legal actions reflecting opposition<\/a> to ceding sovereignty over the archipelago.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Chagos handover in limbo after Trump softens on deal, bill pulled from UK Parliament<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2493768\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A single island in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/indian-ocean\/\">Indian Ocean<\/a> is causing a nightmare for government officials on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> reversed his position on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-kingdom\/\">United Kingdom&rsquo;s<\/a> plan to cede Chagos Islands sovereignty to the country of Mauritius following what he called &ldquo;very <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nato-chief-open-to-normalized-relations-with-kremlin-after-peace\/\" title=\"NATO chief open to normalized relations with Kremlin after peace\">productive discussions&#038;rdquo<\/a>; with British Prime Minister <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/keir-starmer\">Keir Starmer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4448686\/suicide-bomber-kills-dozens-mosque-islamabad-pakistan\/\">Suicide bomber kills dozens at Shiite mosque in Pakistan<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4448403\/deputy-chief-russian-military-intelligence-shot\/\">A deputy chief of Russian military intelligence was shot and wounded in Moscow<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4447648\/donald-tusk-duels-us-ambassador-marshal-trump-doesnt-deserve-peace-prize\/\">Polish prime minister duels with US ambassador over politician saying Trump doesn&#8217;t deserve Nobel Peace Prize<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Trump said on Thursday that he now understands the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3419607\/uk-signs-agreement-hand-sovereignty-chagos-islands-mauritius\/\">U.K. leader&rsquo;s deal<\/a> is &ldquo;the best he could make,&rdquo; despite having previously called the move &ldquo;an act of great stupidity.&rdquo; However, he warned that if the planned handover ever compromises U.S. military operations, he will not hesitate to act in America&rsquo;s interests.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If the lease deal, sometime in the future, ever falls apart, or anyone threatens or endangers U.S. operations and forces at our Base, I retain the right to Militarily secure and reinforce the American presence in Diego Garcia,&rdquo; Trump wrote.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump greets U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a summit to support ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. (AP Photo\/Evan Vucci, Pool)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>A spokeswoman for 10 Downing Street affirmed that Trump and Starmer &ldquo;agreed on the importance of the deal to secure the joint UK&ndash;US base on Diego Garcia, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/joe-biden-sides-with-chinese-solar-manufacturers-evading-u-s-tariffs\/\" title=\"Joe Biden Sides with Chinese Solar Manufacturers Evading U.S. Tariffs\">remains vital<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-new-trade-pact-in-the-indo-pacific-has-officially-launched\/\" title=\"A New Trade Pact in the Indo...Pacific Has Officially Launched\">shared security interests<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Bizarrely, a vote on the bill to hand over the islands was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/politics\/keir-starmer-chagos-surrender-vote\">pulled from the parliamentary calendar<\/a> not long before Trump made his Truth Social post &mdash; delaying it until Feb. 23 at the earliest.<\/p>\n<p>The Chagos Islands are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean that became a British territory in 1814, along with neighboring Mauritius. They were split from Mauritius in 1965, ahead of Mauritius&rsquo;s declaration of independence from Britain in 1968.<\/p>\n<p>The largest island in the Chagos archipelago, Diego Garcia, is home to a joint base operated by the United States and the U.K. &mdash; a development that forced thousands of Chagossians to be relocated to Mauritius and the U.K.<\/p>\n<p>Mauritius has been litigating the U.K. over the situation for decades, eventually taking the case to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3365518\/trump-approves-uk-plan-cede-chagos-islands\/\">International Court of Justice<\/a> in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, the British government has worked tirelessly to carve out a deal that satisfies Mauritius without losing its defensive foothold. The current deal framework would cede sovereignty but lease the Diego Garcia base for 99 years, ban other nations from utilizing nearby islands without British consent, and open the door to negotiations prolonging the arrangement in 40-year intervals.<\/p>\n<p>Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/mikepompeo\/status\/2019529019318755396\">sharply criticized<\/a> the deal on Thursday, calling it &ldquo;one of the dumbest geostrategic mistakes that the UK could possibly make&rdquo; because the islands could fall under Chinese influence.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It will give the Chinese Communist Party a foothold in a critical region&shy; and compromise the ability of the US, UK and Nato forces overall to project power,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">This image released by the U.S. Navy shows an aerial view of Diego Garcia. (U.S. Navy via AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While sovereignty over an Indian Ocean island that is unpopulated save for a military base might not seem like a society-shaping issue, it has already divided British politics enough to push some members of parliament to change affiliation.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Rosindell is the former chairman of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/british-parliament\">British Indian Ocean Territory All-Party Parliamentary Group<\/a>, the government body that has for years been tasked with bringing about a resolution on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>He told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> that the various parties involved in the committee during his tenure had many different viewpoints but agreed on the &ldquo;fundamental point that the resettlement of the Chagossian people to their ancestral homeland must be the priority.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Views within the group varied widely, from Jeremy Corbyn, who supported Mauritius&rsquo;s claim over the Chagos Islands, to myself, who has always vehemently opposed that claim and supported continued British sovereignty,&rdquo; Rosindell explained. &ldquo;What united us was the belief that the ultimate decision over sovereignty should rest with the Chagossian people themselves, whether they chose Mauritius, Britain, or independence.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rosindell recently flipped from the Conservative Party to Reform UK, citing the Conservatives&rsquo; posture on the Chagossian sovereignty question as the &ldquo;red line&rdquo; that was crossed and ultimately forced him to switch parties.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People demonstrate outside the High Court in London, Thursday, May 22, 2025, after a British court blocked the United Kingdom from transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius hours before the agreement was due to be signed. (AP Photo\/Thomas Krych)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Chagos became a decisive factor in my defection because, over the past year as a Shadow Foreign Office Minister, I was repeatedly told that granting self-determination to the Chagossian people was not party policy,&rdquo; Rosindell told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4446961\/starmer-apologizes-epstein-victims-appointing-mandelson-ambassador\/\">STARMER APOLOGIZES TO EPSTEIN VICTIMS FOR APPOINTING MANDELSON AS AMBASSADOR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Approximately 4,000 military personnel live on the island of Diego Garcia at the moment.<\/p>\n<p>The deal to transfer ownership of the Chagos Islands is estimated to cost the U.K. just under $50 billion over the next century.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump eases Chagos handover; UK bill delayed.<\/p>\n<p>Would you like a longer paraphrase of the full passage?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2566153,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26020296570188-e1770409534946.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[73142,52284,5207,16828],"class_list":["post-2566152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-chagos","tag-decolonization","tag-parliament","tag-sovereignty"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26020296570188-e1770409534946.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2566152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2566152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2566152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2566160,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2566152\/revisions\/2566160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2566153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2566152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2566152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2566152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}