General James Hockenhul, head of strategic command, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Defense Secretary John Healey at the press conference announcing the United Kingdom’s handover of the Chagos Islands, at the Northwest London military headquarters, May 22, 2025. THOMAS KRYCH/AFP
On Monday, January 19, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened the press at Downing Street to explain that his conciliatory approach toward Donald Trump was still the right one.
The American president is disregarding international law and has threatened to punish the United Kingdom, France or Germany with tariffs in response to their support for Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland. Starmer has made it clear that there is no question of threatening Washington in return, arguing that Britons are “pragmatic” and “resolute” to protect the special relationship with the US, which “matters profoundly.” “Our cooperation on defense, nuclear capability and intelligence remains as close and effective as anywhere in the world – keeping Britain safe in an increasingly dangerous environment,” said the Labour leader.
British restraint did not exactly pay off: On Tuesday morning, the Starmer government was dealt a heavy blow by a message Trump posted overnight on his social network, Truth Social.
An act of ‘total weakness’
“Our ‘brilliant’ NATO ally” is about to “give away the island of Diego Garcia… FOR NO REASON AT ALL,” in an act of “total weakness” and “GREAT STUPIDITY,” denounced the president, referring, with no apparent reason, to the treaty signed by London in May 2025, which ceded the Chagos Archipelago to the Republic of Mauritius. The humiliation has stung all the more for Downing Street, as the agreement, which is currently being ratified by the Westminster Parliament, had been concluded precisely to safeguard US military interests in the Indian Ocean.
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