Topic Lifecycle: Dormant
This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Thursday 24 September 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.
Coverage trend (last 30 days)
How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.
On screen
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Recent stories
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What was reported
A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.
Channels reported that the UK would review its agreement with Mauritius over the future of the Chagos Islands after criticism from Donald Trump. Channel 4 and 5 said the review followed Trump calling the deal terrible, and Channel 5 said Trump also called it ridiculous during a meeting with Andy Burnham in New York. Sky News reported that Trump had initially backed the deal before opposing it, and that he repeated his opposition in front of Andy Burnham and called it terrible. Sky News said Andy Burnham responded that he would look at the deal again. Channel 4 reported that Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the pact to transfer sovereignty could not go ahead without US support, and that payments to Mauritius worth more than 100 million pounds had been paused. Sky News carried comments from Streeting in which he said the deal needed American support and was not good enough without it. Sky News said Streeting had been a member of the cabinet that agreed the deal and stood by that decision, but that the aim was now a deal acceptable to the UK, Mauritius and the US. Sky News set out the deal's terms: sovereignty of the Chagos Islands would be handed to Mauritius while the Diego Garcia military base, shared with the US, would be leased back for 99 years. It said the UK government had consistently presented the deal as essential for the base's security and future. Sky News also noted that Luke Pollard, a defence minister, had said the previous day that the deal was crucial and had repeated that Trump once backed it, while Sky News indicated that Streeting's remarks suggested Trump was not changing his position.
Key Claims by Channel
Tuesday 22 September 2026
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donald Trump said he opposed the Chagos deal and described it as terrible, making the remarks directly to Andy Burnham at their first face-to-face meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York. | · | · | · | ||||
| Andy Burnham said he established a good connection with Donald Trump, while Trump said UK-US relations had improved since Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Under the May 2025 agreement, the UK would hand sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while retaining authority over the Diego Garcia military base, with the UK and US able to access, maintain and invest in the base for an initial 99 years, extendable by 40 years. | · | · | · | ||||
| The UK would pay Mauritius an average annual sum over 99 years, totalling around £34bn in 2025/26 prices, while GB News reported that at 3 percent inflation the payments would exceed £50bn. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| The Chagos deal was paused or postponed after Donald Trump withdrew his support and described it as terrible, and it was reported as dead without US sign-off. | · | · | |||||
| Marco Rubio welcomed the UK-Mauritius agreement on 22 May 2025 and endorsed it before Donald Trump withdrew support. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Liz Kendall said the UK government was in control of the Chagos deal, that the future of the Diego Garcia base was essential, and that a resolution with the US was needed. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| It was reported that Washington's position was confusing because the UK protests over the Falkland Islands while seeking to transfer Chagos sovereignty to Mauritius and lease the base back. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| It was reported that the US changed its view because a lease was seen as more ambiguous than a freehold, and that Donald Trump's view shifted after Keir Starmer took a different position on Iran. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| It was reported that Keir Starmer was worried about legal uncertainty around the Diego Garcia base because of a 2019 International Court of Justice opinion, which critics said was non-binding. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| 104 Chagossians arrived at Manchester Airport after leaving Mauritius and claiming persecution. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Twelve of the Chagossians were held because they did not have British Chagossian passports and were described as partners or mothers of other passengers on the plane. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| A Chagossian representative told GB News that Chagossians had faced discrimination in Mauritius for 60 years. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Donald Trump cited the strategic importance of Diego Garcia, including B-2 bombers having to return to Missouri after bombing Iran, and said the UK Prime Minister would be looking at the deal. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The Times front page said Donald Trump had won a review of the Chagos deal. | · | · | |||||
| Streeting said the Chagos deal would not be good enough without US backing. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| The prime minister accused Russia of cyber attacks and disinformation. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| A BBC panel said the Chagossians' right to return should be respected. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Diego Garcia has hosted a shared military base since the 1960s. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The Conservatives and Reform UK have long argued the Chagos Islands deal should be scrapped. | · | · | · | · | · | · |
Wednesday 23 September 2026
| Claim | Channel 5 | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dapo Akande previously supported the Chagos handover, viewing it as unfinished decolonisation and supporting self-determination. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Donald Trump said he opposed the Chagos deal and described it as terrible, making the remarks directly to Andy Burnham at their first face-to-face meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York. | · | ||||||
| Under the May 2025 agreement, the UK would hand sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while retaining authority over the Diego Garcia military base, with the UK and US able to access, maintain and invest in the base for an initial 99 years, extendable by 40 years. | · | ||||||
| The UK would pay Mauritius an average annual sum over 99 years, totalling around £34bn in 2025/26 prices, while GB News reported that at 3 percent inflation the payments would exceed £50bn. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The Chagos deal was paused or postponed after Donald Trump withdrew his support and described it as terrible, and it was reported as dead without US sign-off. | · | · | |||||
| 104 Chagossians arrived at Manchester Airport after leaving Mauritius and claiming persecution. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Twelve of the Chagossians were held because they did not have British Chagossian passports and were described as partners or mothers of other passengers on the plane. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The Times front page said Donald Trump had won a review of the Chagos deal. | · | · | · | ||||
| Trump claimed UK-US relations had improved after Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Streeting said the Chagos deal would not be good enough without US backing. | · | · | · | · | |||
| The UK government said the Chagos deal was essential for the security and future of the Diego Garcia military base. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| Donald Trump initially backed the Chagos Islands deal before opposing it. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Defence minister Luke Pollard said the Chagos deal was crucial and that Donald Trump had previously backed it. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Wes Streeting said he was a member of the cabinet that agreed the Chagos deal and stood by that decision. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Wes Streeting said the objective was a Chagos deal acceptable to the UK, Mauritius and the US, and to safeguard the Diego Garcia base long term. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The prime minister accused Russia of cyber attacks and disinformation. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| A BBC panel said the Chagossians' right to return should be respected. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Diego Garcia has hosted a shared military base since the 1960s. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The Chagos Islands deal included at least £100 million per year and a buffer zone around the base. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The Conservatives and Reform UK have long argued the Chagos Islands deal should be scrapped. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Burnham said he would look again at the Chagos deal after Trump's criticism. | · | · | · | · | · | ||
| The ICJ ruled in 2019 that the Chagos Islands belong to Mauritius. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| If the Chagos deal collapses, Mauritius will continue its decolonisation campaign. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Iran fired two unsuccessful missiles at Diego Garcia following US bombings. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| Donald Trump's reported anger over Chagos dated back to the start of the Iran war, when the UK refused US use of Diego Garcia. | · | · | · | · | · | · | |
| The Chagos deal was criticised as paying Mauritius to take territory that belongs to Britain. | · | · | · | · | · | · |
This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.
Timeline
Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.
| Date | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 24 September 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 7m 54s 10.6% | — | — |
| Wednesday 23 September 2026 | 4m 3s 11.2% | — | 8m 1s 8.4% | 8m 16s 11.8% | 3m 46s 7.7% | — | 3m 18s 2.7% | 3m 32s 3.0% |
| Tuesday 22 September 2026 | — | — | — | 6m 57s 9.8% | — | 28m 35s 39.3% | — | — |
| Thursday 17 September 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 7m 47s 10.6% | — | — |
| Wednesday 16 September 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 8m 19s 10.2% | — | — |
| Tuesday 8 September 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 6m 44s 8.2% | — | — |
| Wednesday 2 September 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 6m 39s 9.7% | — | — |
| Wednesday 26 August 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 7m 40s 11.0% | — | — |
| Thursday 16 July 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | 6m 6s 8.7% | — | — |