Britain to return Chagos Islands to Mauritius ending years of dispute
GuardianOCT 1 2024
UK: Foreign Secretary Says Trump Can Veto Chagos Islands Deal
Above: David Lammy, UK foreign secretary, at a news conference in London, UK, on Jan. 9, 2025. Image copyright: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Contributor via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Given the UK's security and intelligence relationship with the US, it would be very strange if the UK's Labour government acted without the advice of America on this deal. Of course, the UK is going to discuss very closely with the US and make sure the deal's in their best interests.
Establishment-critical narrative
The government has realized they've made a massive blunder in agreeing to give away a strategically important set of islands for nothing except the privilege of renting one of the islands for billions of pounds a year. Now they're shamelessly hoping that Trump can bail them out of this sticky situation.