Overview
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham told The Economist he is rethinking the plan to give Mauritius sovereignty over the Chagos Islands and wants to “recast” the arrangement to meet US security concerns.
- Downing Street says the UK, Mauritius and the United States have agreed to work on a joint plan and aim to make further progress by the end of the year.
- The previously negotiated 99‑year framework that would have handed sovereignty to Mauritius and included transitional payments (reported at £165m a year for the first three years, then £120m) remains the baseline but its implementation is on hold.
- Progress stalled in April after President Donald Trump criticised the earlier deal, and Burnham has cited the US‑Denmark/Greenland arrangement as a possible model to preserve British sovereignty while securing US access to Diego Garcia.
- Media coverage varies in tone, with some outlets framing Burnham’s comments as a policy reversal and others calling them a call for trilateral talks; the outcome will directly affect the status of Diego Garcia, Mauritius’ sovereignty claim, and defence arrangements for the region.