Mauritius PM says Keir Starmer hopes to seal Chagos Islands surrender deal within weeks despite furious opposition from Trump's US

Sir Keir Starmer remains 'confident' that a woody connected surrendering power of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius tin beryllium sealed  'in the coming weeks', the country's premier minister  has said.

Answering questions successful the Mauritian National Assembly connected Tuesday, Navin Ramgoolam said Sir Keir had discussed the imaginable of a woody with him successful a telephone speech connected Friday.

And helium said Sir Keir wanted to 'push ahead' with a woody that would including giving Mauritius a veto connected extending a projected 99-year lease connected the strategically important Diego Garcia airbase utilized by the United States.

Critics including elder figures successful the Trump medication and connected the absorption benches successful the Commons person warned that the handover risks giving a almighty boost to China successful the Indian Ocean.

The UK had reached an statement connected returning sovereignty implicit the Chagos Islands to Mauritius with the erstwhile Mauritian authorities past year, but Mr Ramgoolam insisted connected renegotiating the woody erstwhile helium came to powerfulness successful November. 

A renegotiated Chagos deal, which Mr Ramgoolam said confirmed Mauritian sovereignty implicit the islands and required communal statement to immoderate hold of the lease connected Diego Garcia, is presently being reviewed by the Trump administration.

Mr Ramgoolam told the National Assembly: 'President Trump is not a wolf. Let him spot if the statement is bully oregon not.

'Now the British have, precocious successful the day, decided that, yes, it is amended to fto the caller medication person a look, that is what the concern is.'

The imaginable of a woody has caused contention successful the UK, with the Conservatives claiming it would undermine nationalist information due to the fact that of the beingness of a associated UK-US subject basal connected the largest of the islands, Diego Garcia.

The UK plans to lease backmost the strategically important basal for 99 years astatine a reported yearly outgo of astir £90 million.

It could besides marque relations with the caller medication successful Washington difficult.

Senior members of Donald Trump's squad expressed interest that ceding power of the islands could weaken Western power successful the Indian Ocean and fortify the scope of China, though Mauritius is 1 of lone 2 African nations not to person signed up to China's Belt and Road Initiative and has adjacent ties to India.

Shadow overseas caput Priti Patel said: 'It seems Keir Starmer has learnt perfectly thing - and is inactive putting his leftie shame of our country's past implicit our nationalist security, and our longstanding narration with our closest ally.

'He has the audacity to archer the British radical they volition ft the measure and wage for the indignity of his surrender of the Chagos Islands, arsenic helium isolates the caller US medication by bending the genu to Mauritius and emboldening our enemies with his disastrous surrender deal.

'Starmer and David Lammy indispensable urgently explicate their epic nonaccomplishment of diplomacy which is putting retired peculiar narration astatine hazard portion they play pathetic motion politics.'

Downing Street said it had 'no update' connected the concern connected Tuesday morning.

But successful its readout of past Friday's gathering it said Sir Keir 'underlined the request for a woody to unafraid the subject basal connected Diego Garcia that ensures beardown protections, including from malign influence, and that volition let the basal to proceed to operate.'

David Lammy is expected to conscionable Donald Trump's caput of authorities successful a hopeless bid to support the arguable woody connected track.

The Foreign Secretary has reportedly pencilled successful a day for aboriginal this period wherever helium volition effort 1 much clip to bring the US connected side.

Trump is yet to remark publically connected Britain's plan.  However, US caput of authorities Marco Rubio reportedly utilized his archetypal telephone telephone with Mr Lammy to situation him implicit the presumption of the handover.