PRESIDENT Trump has signalled Sir Keir Starmer’s fiercely controversial plan to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands will get his backing.
The Prime Minister has come under furious fire for proposing to give up sovereignty of islands which are home to a strategically important UK-US military base.
Conservatives are angry at his plan to lease the base from the Mauritian Government but Mr Trump appeared to give his blessing.
He said the deal will “work out very well”.
Speaking after welcoming Sir Keir to the White House, he said: “‘We’ll be inclined to go along with your country. It doesn’t sound bad.”
This week Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick denounced the plan as “dangerous nonsense” and called for the Prime Minister to "end this farce".
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott last week told the Express it was "absolute insanity".
A key concern is that China could have even greater influence over Mauritius in the coming decades.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on Wednesday that if the US president dis not like the deal then it "will not go forward".
Sir Keir will be relieved if the President gives it the thumbs-up.
Mr Trump struck an upbeat note, saying: "I have a feeling it's going to work out very well."
Concerns have focused on both the cost of the deal with Mauritius and the future of the Diego Garcia base.
On Wednesday, Mr Jenrick said it "seems like Keir Starmer cares more about his extreme idea of international law and his reputation amongst his international legal friends than he does about our national security". He dismissed the Mauritian claim to the island and insisted an International Court of Justice ruling which found the UK had acted unlawfully was not binding.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has urged Sir Keir to scrap the "whole sorry affair before it is too late".
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