Burnham will do ‘everything possible’ to hand over Chagos Islands
Mauritian leader says PM will work ‘together with USA’ to give up territory despite Donald Trump’s opposition
Published 22 September 2026 7:29am BST
The UK is seeking to relinquish sovereignty of the Chagos Islands while retaining a 99-year lease on the Diego Garcia military base Credit: AFP
Andy Burnham will do “everything possible” to hand over the Chagos Islands, the prime minister of Mauritius has said.
In a phone call with Navin Ramgoolam on Monday, Mr Burnham “reiterated his commitment to continue doing everything possible, together with the USA, towards the ratification of the Chagos treaty”.
A statement released by Mr Ramgoolam’s office said: “The United Kingdom recognises the need to ensure the use of the Diego Garcia military base for its security.”
The two prime ministers also agreed for the countries’ foreign ministers to meet at the United Nations General Assembly, which starts on Tuesday, Downing Street said in a statement.
The Government’s plans to hand over sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean territory in exchange for retaining control of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia were paused in April after opposition from the Trump administration.
On May 22 last year, Sir Keir Starmer’s government agreed a deal to relinquish sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after more than two centuries of control, while retaining a 99-year lease on Diego Garcia.
The deal has not yet been ratified because of the Donald Trump’s concerns. The US president changed his mind about the agreement after Sir Keir refused to let him use British military bases to bomb Iran.
Mr Burnham’s Government continues to support the deal, but ministers have accepted that it cannot continue without the backing of the White House.
Speaking to reporters on the way to New York for a meeting of the UN General Assembly, Mr Burnham said he would work with Mauritius and the US to find a solution to retaining control of Diego Garcia.
“We remain determined to secure the long-term operation of the base, which is crucial to our security and that of our allies,” he said in his first comments on the Chagos Islands since entering office.
“The assurance I gave was I will work towards a resolution. At the moment we don’t have that, but I gave an assurance that I would commit to working towards one.”
Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, hit out at Mr Burnham on social media on Tuesday, writing: “Why can’t Andy Burnham do ‘everything possible’ to bring down the cost of welfare, or do ‘everything possible’ to fund defence properly?
“Why is giving away this territory such a priority for Labour that they are willing to give away billions to do so when there’s little money for anything else?”
Andy Burnham said he would work with Mauritius and the US to find a solution to retaining control of Diego Garcia Credit: Reuters
The statement from Mauritius described the phone call between Mr Burnham and Mr Ramgoolam as cordial, marked by a “clear desire to continue working together” to advance relations on a range of issues, including the Chagos treaty.
Mr Ramgoolam thanked Mr Burnham for his support in bringing “this painful chapter for the Chagossians to a close”.
The two prime ministers agreed to remain in contact and welcomed the planned meeting between Dhananjay Ramful, the Mauritian foreign minister, and Ed Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, at the UN General Assembly.
Mauritius said Mr Burnham had requested the call with Mr Ramgoolam as it had been planning to raise the issue of the Chagos deal in New York.
The issue could come up during the first meeting between Mr Burnham and Mr Trump, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
While Britain has already signed the treaty with Mauritius, the bill needed to enact the handover has yet to complete its passage through the UK Parliament.
Sir Keir initially claimed the cost of the Chagos deal would be £3.4bn. However, The Telegraph previously revealed that the cost was set to rise by £288m under John Healey’s Treasury reforms.
Asked on Times Radio whether it was a good use of defence money, Luke Pollard, the defence procurement minister, said: “It is, because it keeps our base secure, it keeps it operational.
“And as we increase defence spending, we will need to make sure that we’re investing in the bases, the equipment and the people within defence, and that’s what this Government is doing.”