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No signs Chagos deal can be adapted to suit Trump, say UK officials

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Cite

Walker, P., & Adu, A. (2026, September 23). No signs Chagos deal can be adapted to suit Trump, say UK officials. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/23/no-signs-chagos-deal-adapted-suit-donald-trump-officials-believe

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The Guardian · collected 2026-09-23 · by Peter Walker, Aletha Adu

Quick Summary

UK officials believe the Chagos Islands deal, which would transfer sovereignty over the islands to Mauritius while retaining UK and US military control on Diego Garcia, is on hold due to President Trump's objections. The plan, worth £165m for three years followed by £120m annually, has stalled as Trump views it negatively, citing the sudden Mauritian claim of ownership despite longstanding US support for the deal. With no signs that the agreement can be adapted to suit Trump, payments to Mauritius are on hold until there is a change in the president's stance or an alternative solution is found.
Written by AI on 2026-09-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Wes Streeting, Britain’s defence secretary, announced that annual payments worth at least £120 million to Mauritius are on hold as the government reconsiders an agreement over the Chagos Islands. This decision came after Donald Trump criticized the deal during a meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the UN General Assembly in New York. The original agreement would see the UK cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius and pay approximately £101 million annually to lease back a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which is strategically important due to its location in the Indian Ocean.

Streeting emphasized that the deal cannot proceed without US support, highlighting the need for cooperation with American allies to ensure the agreement safeguards the long-term future of the base at Diego Garcia. The defence secretary noted that previous efforts to adapt the deal have not succeeded, and current negotiations are focused on reaching an arrangement that both Mauritius and the US can accept.

Written for “Chagos Islands Deal” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 38 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Chagos Islands Deal
Politics · 39 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 65/100
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 3 of 43 claims Outlet record 68/100
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 66/100
Euronews
Hedges 3 of 26 claims Outlet record 60/100
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 5 claims Outlet record 68/100
BBC News
Hedges 3 of 34 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss Trump's opposition to the Chagos Islands deal during a meeting with Burnham at the UN General Assembly, Article B focuses on UK officials' response and efforts to adapt the deal, which is a follow-up event rather than the same specific incident reported in Article A.”
The Hindu
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 26 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles mention a meeting between Trump and Andy Burnham at the UN General Assembly, Article A focuses on their overall positive interaction and agreement on certain issues, whereas Article B specifically discusses Trump's opposition to the Chagos Islands deal during that same meeting. They cover different aspects of the same broader event but not the exact same specific incident.”
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles discuss related events but cover different phases: Article A reports on the UK's decision to review the deal after Trump's criticism, while Article B elaborates on officials' views that adapting the deal to suit Trump is unlikely.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 16 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different stages and perspectives on the Chagos Islands deal, with Article A focusing on Burnham's commitment before a meeting with Trump and Article B reporting UK officials' reaction after Trump's objection during the UN general assembly meeting.”
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 1 of 55 claims Outlet record 65/100
“While both articles mention a meeting between Andy Burnham and Donald Trump at the UN General Assembly where the Chagos Islands deal was discussed, they describe different aspects of this broader context.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
39
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2736 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Peter Walker
12 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 After Trump savaged the three-way plan as “a terrible deal” during a meeting with Andy Burnham at the UN general assembly, the prime minister said he was “confident” the UK would be able to find a solution to revive the idea.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 12 articles by Peter Walker →
Aletha Adu
5 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 He said that the US was confident in the security of all its bases and “with the Brits, we’ve worked very closely a long time, including on this investigation, and they couldn’t be more cooperative”.
🔮 After Trump savaged the three-way plan as “a terrible deal” during a meeting with Andy Burnham at the UN general assembly, the prime minister said he was “confident” the UK would be able to find a solution to revive the idea.
Also by Aletha Adu
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

American BBC Radio 4 Iran Mauritius New York

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 7× Mauritius GPE · 6× Burnham PERSON · 3× American NORP · 2× Streeting PERSON · 2× Andy Burnham PERSON · 1× BBC Radio 4 ORG · 1× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× Keir Starmer PERSON · 1× Wes Streeting PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Streeting stressed the same point to the BBC, saying: “The ostrich strategy of sticking our heads in the sand … I would caution is not a wise strategy when it concerns one of the most sensitive national security assets we have anywhere in the world.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-23
🔮 After Trump savaged the three-way plan as “a terrible deal” during a meeting with Andy Burnham at the UN general assembly, the prime minister said he was “confident” the UK would be able to find a solution to revive the idea.
2026-09-23 · The Guardian
No signs Chagos deal can be adapted to suit Trump, say UK officials · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

The Chagos Islands deal is on hold for as long as Donald Trump objects to it, UK officials believe, with no immediate signs it can be adapted to suit the US president. asserted
it → object → president
After Trump savaged the three-way plan as “a terrible deal” during a meeting with Andy Burnham at the UN general assembly, the prime minister said he was “confident” the UK would be able to find a solution to revive the idea. asserted
UK → savage → idea
But while efforts are still taking place to do this, there is an acceptance in the government that it is extremely unlikely unless Trump has another change of heart. asserted
Trump → take → heart
“Until the president changes his mind there will not be any progress,” one official said. asserted
official → change → mind
We were waiting for the president to present a view, which he has.” asserted
he → wait → which
The UK signed a treaty last year to transfer sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while retaining control of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, part of the Indian Ocean archipelago, under a 99-year lease. asserted
UK → sign → lease
Mauritius was set to receive £165m for three years and £120m a year from the fourth year. asserted
Mauritius → set → year
Wes Streeting, the UK defence secretary, said on Wednesday morning that payments worth at least £120m to Mauritius were on hold given the deal could not go ahead without US support. uncertain
deal → say → support
“This deal as it is currently constituted can’t go ahead without American support,” Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today’s programme. asserted
Streeting → constitute → programme
“So we have to get a deal to a place where it commands American support as well as the agreement of the government of Mauritius and our government.” asserted
it → have → Mauritius
The US had supported the plan, but Trump changed his mind amid a wider deterioration of relations with Keir Starmer over the lack of UK support for the US attacks on Iran. asserted
Trump → support → Iran
Speaking after their first in-person meeting at the UN in New York on Tuesday, Trump praised Burnham but gave no ground on his scepticism about the Chagos deal. asserted
Trump → speak → deal
“I don’t support it. asserted
I → support → it
I think it’s terrible,” Trump told reporters. asserted
Trump → think → reporters
[Mauritius] all of a sudden say they have ownership. asserted
they → say → ownership
Somebody has ownership that never showed up before, after decades and centuries. asserted
that → have → decades
I think it’s ridiculous.” asserted
it → think → ?
Burnham later said he had “inherited the situation” and had told Trump “that we will work to find that resolution between the different sides”. asserted
we → say → sides
He added: “It was clear that we need to come to that agreement, but I’m confident we can find it working with our US partners. asserted
it → add → partners
The UK government has previously made clear that Washington’s approval is a prerequisite for the plan. asserted
is → make → plan
UK officials stress, however, that while Burnham inherited the impasse from Starmer, there is no intention to deprioritise a plan, begun under Rishi Sunak, that the government says is vital to ensure the future of the strategically vital Diego Garcia base, given Mauritian claims to sovereignty of the archipelago. uncertain
government → stress → archipelago
“It’s not back to the drawing board, as we do need to find a diplomatic solution to this,” another UK official said. asserted
official → ’ → this
“Everyone agrees something has to be done, which is why several prime ministers and even more foreign secretaries have tried to get it over the line.” asserted
ministers → agree → line
Streeting stressed the same point to the BBC, saying: “The ostrich strategy of sticking our heads in the sand … I would caution is not a wise strategy when it concerns one of the most sensitive national security assets we have anywhere in the world.” asserted
we → stress → world
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