Prior to the pause in April, the UK and Mauritius had signed an agreement in May 2025 and a final draft of the bill to hand over sovereignty of the islands had not passed Parliament.
Under the terms of the deal agreed in 2025, Britain would hand sovereignty over the archipelago to Mauritius but lease back the Diego Garcia base for 99 years, which the UK government said would be a net overall cost of £3.4bn.
However, Sir Keir, who was then prime minister, came under heavy criticism from opponents who said the real cost of the deal could amount to £35bn, adjusting for inflation, and risked allowing China to establish a presence on the archipelago.
Trump, who originally backed the deal, has been a frequent critic of the move, previously branding it a “a blight on our great ally” and an “act of total weakness”.
Reacting to the review, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called on Burnham to “just scrap this terrible deal”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “The Chagos deal is dead. Thank God.”
In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave an advisory opinion that Britain’s separation of the Chagos Islands from Mauritius was unlawful and stated the UK must end its administration as rapidly as possible.
While non-binding, the ICJ advisory opinion – which was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly – emboldened Mauritian assertions of sovereignty and led to the UK opening negotiations in 2022.
Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday that no money would be handed over to Mauritius “at this stage” while officials review the deal.
Describing the Diego Garcia base as “one of the most sensitive and valuable national security assets”, he said work was underway to find a deal “that maybe not everyone loves, but everyone can live with”.
