Andy Burnham wants progress on Chagos Islands stalemate ‘by the end of the year’

Andy Burnham wants to make progress by the end of the year in a dispute about handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, Downing Street has said.

The Prime Minister also suggested the islands’ future status could follow an arrangement similar to one between the US and Denmark which has allowed America greater military control over the territory while retaining Danish sovereignty.

The deal to cede control of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius in exchange for securing the continued operation of a joint US-UK military base on the island of Diego Garcia has been left in limbo since US President Donald Trump criticised it earlier this year.

Under the agreement, Britain would pay Mauritius £165 million a year in the first three years of a 99-year deal, dropping to £120 million annually from year four.

Mr Trump described it as a “terrible deal” and the progress of legislation that would give effect to the treaty was paused in April, with the UK Government saying it could not go ahead without American support.

The Prime Minister said after his first meeting with the US president in September that he wanted to find a resolution to the stalemate.

He met with his Mauritian counterpart on the fringes of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Antigua, with No 10 suggesting the parties wanted a clearer idea about the deal before the end of the year.

A statement released by Downing Street after Mr Burnham returned to the UK from Chogm said: “He also met the prime minister of Mauritius, Navin Ramgoolam.

“During the discussion, the Prime Minister underlined his commitment to working with Mauritius and the United States on a way forward that secured the operation of the Diego Garcia base and protected national security for all three countries.

“They agreed to work on a shared plan to make further progress by the end of the year.”

Speaking to the Economist, the Prime Minister said he was “committed to finding a solution that secures the base” on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands.

He also floated the idea that the US-Denmark deal on Greenland could provide an example of how the Chagos deal may be changed.

Mr Burnham said: “It is the priority, given its strategic significance. And what we have to do is go into new discussion — well, we are in discussion with our US friends – to see how we might recast the arrangement that better meets their concerns.

“We look at the Greenland deal and obviously there was a solution reached there. Now, maybe there is something there that we can take from that to see if there’s a solution that works in relation to Diego Garcia.

“But that is something that we’re very engaged on. We’re working hard on it, but it is challenging.”