Trump withdraws objection to the ‘stupid’ UK government deal over Chagos Islands
Trump washes his hands of British stupidity?
One can only assume that Trump supports the surrender of the ancestral rights of the Chagossian people and the payment of 70 per cent of the national wage of Mauritians for decades.
This effectively pays ALL Mauritian taxes from British taxes.
The Brits can make whatever stupid deal they want!
From Brave AI:
“Donald Trump has reversed his earlier objections to the UK’s Chagos Islands deal, signaling support after previously calling it an “act of great stupidity” and “total weakness.”
“In a post on Truth Social on February 5, 2026, Trump stated he had “very productive discussions” with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and acknowledged the agreement as “the best he could make.” While not issuing a formal endorsement, he emphasized the strategic importance of Diego Garcia and asserted the U.S. reserves the right to “militarily secure and reinforce the American presence” if the lease agreement ever fails or if the base is threatened.”
A reminder – here’s the deal per Brave AI:
“The UK will pay £165 million annually for the first three years, £120 million per year from years 4 to 13, and £120 million per year thereafter, indexed to inflation.
“he UK’s Chagos Islands deal involves the UK ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while leasing back the Diego Garcia military base for 99 years. The value of the deal is measured in different ways:
Net Present Value (NPV): The UK government estimates the total cost at £3.4 billion over 99 years, using a discounting method that accounts for inflation and the time value of money. This figure is cited by the government and verified by the Government Actuary’s Department.
Nominal Total Payments: The sum of all annual payments adds up to £34.7 billion in nominal terms, with payments increasing over time due to inflation adjustments from year 14 onward.
Cost in Today’s Money (2025–26 prices): The total cost is estimated at £10 billion when adjusted for inflation, reflecting the real value of future payments in current terms.
“Mauritius GDP per capita (nominal) was $11,983 in 2024, according to CEIC data, showing an increase from $11,231 in 2023 The latest available estimate for 2025 is $12,973, based on the 2024 nominal GDP of $16.359 billion and a population of 1.269 million.
Compare these two extracts”… nominal GDP of $16.359 billion … “The sum of all annual payments adds up to £34.7 billion( equals $47.5 Billion) in nominal terms,
That’s $34,617 pr capita ( per person).
The UK government thinks it is ok to pay three times Mauritian GDP to entice Mauritius to take over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
Out of interest
Mauritius collects around 23 per cent of GDP in taxes – see page14 of 74 Figure 19 here:
https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/cr/2024/english/1musea2024001.pdf T hat would be around $3.8 billion 23 per cent of $16.36 billion). Which equates to around $3,000 pr capita
£10 billion equates to $13.7 billion which equates to $10,837 per capita.
Mauritians will be living tax free for years courtesy of the British taxpayer.
Watch inflationincrease to 50 pr cent in Mauritius!
Onwards!
PLEASE take a paid subscription or follow/recommend my site to others you think might be interested. You may also donate via Ko-fi – (any amount three dollars and above here): https://ko-fi.com/peterhalligan
Thank you for sharing ... Trump, unfortunately is the Great Deceiver and should never be trusted. Let us pray for truth, transparency, freedom and justice because the are all at stake! https://larrykaifesh.substack.com/p/trump-the-great-deceiver-a-complete
1. These figures only account for the 'rent' we are paying Mauritius, there is an additional 'development grant' of£45mm per year for 25 years which has been excluded from the publicity.
2. The total nominal cost is highly dependent on the inflation rate assumed.
The government has assumed an inflation rate of around 2.2%.
The average UK CPI since 1989 (Source ONS) is around 2.85% which would take the totaal nominal sum to £47 billion.
If you input the December official UK CPI figure of 3.6% the total nominal sum increases to £71 billion.
3. The NPV is similarly much higher and depends on the discount rate, the closest discount rate suitable to be used would be the 50 year gilt yield, currently around 4.78%.
Inflation 2.2%: NPV £4.3 billion
Inflation 2.85%: NPV £4.8 billion
Inflation 3.6%: NPV £5.6billion
Trump cares about being able to use the Diego Garcia base, in fact it is far more likely the USA would want to project their significant military power from this base than the UK, who let's face it don't have much of a military left.
And if the UK is footing the bill then the USA probably doesn't care too much.