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Minister Alison McGovern speaks at a child poverty event marking the 60th anniversary of the Child Poverty Action Group (Cpag) at Somerset House, in central London, November 6, 2025
THE Chagos Islands deal is “100 per cent” going ahead despite concerns from the Trump administration, Communities Minister Alison McGovern said today.
She told Times Radio that Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer had spoken in error when he told the Commons on Wednesday that the £35 billion deal had been “paused.”
“My colleague the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has been talking to Marco Rubio, her opposite number in the US, about it,” Ms McGovern added.
“Foreign policy is never easy. We will make progress on the Chagos deal.”
She was not able to say when the Bill to ratify the handover of the islands to Mauritius would return to Parliament for further scrutiny.
US President Donald Trump has described the deal to lease back the British-US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island, as a “big mistake.”
In 2019, an advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice backed Mauritian claims to sovereignty over the islands.
Beatrice Pompe and Bernadette Dugasse have submitted a UN complaint against Labour’s deal with Mauritius, highlighting how exclusion from ancestral lands is denying their right of return and justice for historical abuses, reports ELIZABETH MISTRY
While David Lammy makes hollow criticisms, RAF Akrotiri conducts five-hour surveillance flights sending targeting data to Israel, reports ALFIE HOWIS
