• Analysis
Burnham wants to 'recast' Chagos Islands deal after US resistance
Prime minister Andy Burnham said he wants to "recast" the UK's Chagos Islands deal after resistance from Washington, in what he called "a new discussion" with the US over the islands that host the Diego Garcia military base.
Speaking on his way back from Antigua, Burnham told the Economist he wanted "a new discussion" with the US over the disputed islands, which host the Diego Garcia military base.
"We are in discussion with our US friends to see how we might recast the arrangement that better meets their concerns," Burnham said.
What the original deal would have done
The Chagos Islands deal was struck by the former prime minister Keir Starmer and would have given sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius. Under the treaty, control of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia would stay under a 99-year lease. Mauritius would have received £165m for three years and £120m a year from the fourth year.
US resistance and the Greenland model
The deal has been in limbo since Donald Trump made clear he opposed it. Speaking in September in New York after a bilateral meeting with Burnham, the president said: "I don't support it – I think it's a terrible deal".
According to the report, the US suggested the agreement could instead be modelled on America's Greenland deal with Denmark. Under that arrangement, Greenland remains Danish territory but the US is allowed to develop a significant military presence, and adversaries are banned from building bases there.
Burnham said a solution along those lines might work for Diego Garcia.
Payments suspended, compromise sought
The defence secretary Wes Streeting said the UK had suspended payments to Mauritius while the two governments worked on a compromise. He told the BBC that any agreement must satisfy the US, Mauritius and the UK.
"This deal as it is currently constituted can't go ahead without American support," Streeting said.
Chogm trip and what comes next
Burnham spoke on his return journey from the Commonwealth heads of government (Chogm) summit in Antigua. The trip was dominated by Caribbean demands for Britain to pay reparations for slavery, and Burnham said his government had opened up the possibility of a government apology.
"I think we have done something, we've achieved something out there," he said of the summit.
On the Chagos Islands deal, Burnham said the UK and US are engaged and working hard on recasting the arrangement, but that it is challenging.
