Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he “will not yield” to pressure from US president Donald Trump over the future of Greenland, following Trump’s sharp criticism of the UK’s agreement on the Chagos Islands.
Addressing MPs during Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir said Trump’s attack on the Chagos deal was aimed at pressuring the UK over its stance on Greenland. The US president recently described Britain’s decision to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back a key military base as an “act of great stupidity”.
Sir Keir told Parliament that Trump had previously backed the agreement, but had since changed his tone.
“President Trump deployed words on Chagos yesterday that were different to his previous words of welcome and support when I met him in the White House,” he said.
“He deployed those words yesterday for the express purpose of putting pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland.”
He added firmly: “He wants me to yield on my position, and I’m not going to do so.”
The prime minister stressed that “the future of Greenland is for the people of Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone”, and confirmed he will host Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at Downing Street on Thursday.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on European countries that resist his call for the US to take control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch said she agreed with Sir Keir’s stance on Greenland, but sided with Trump in criticising the Chagos deal.
“We didn’t need President Trump to tell us that, we’ve been saying this for 12 months,” she said, urging the government to abandon the agreement and redirect funds toward defence spending.
Meanwhile, Labour MP Steve Witherden called on the government to stand alongside European allies and consider retaliatory tariffs against the US.
“The thug in the White House has shown that he doesn’t listen to grovelling or sycophancy,” he said, adding that Trump would continue to undermine British interests.
Downing Street declined to say whether the US still supports the Chagos agreement, stating instead that “our Five Eyes allies support it,” referring to the intelligence-sharing alliance between the UK, the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The £3.4bn ($4.6bn) deal signed in May allows the UK to retain control of the UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which ministers say is essential for maintaining the facility’s legal and strategic footing. However, the legislation required to finalise the agreement remains stalled amid disagreements between the House of Lords and the Commons.
Trump has repeatedly criticised the arrangement on his Truth Social platform, writing:
“Shockingly, our ‘brilliant’ Nato ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US military base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.
“There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness.”
He argued that the decision reinforced his push to acquire Greenland, saying:
“The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.”
As Trump arrived at the World Economic Forum in Davos, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed the criticism, saying the UK was “letting us down” over the Diego Garcia base and warning that Washington would not compromise on its national security interests.
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