Conservative response to Government delaying Chagos Surrender Bill

Dame Priti Patel MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, said:

“President Trump has utterly humiliated Keir Starmer over his Chagos Surrender, sending the Prime Minister reeling with his dramatic intervention.

“The Government may say it will ‘pause for thought', but the truth is that Starmer is panicking as his Chagos plan is blown wide open. It's impossible for the deal to proceed without the support of our American allies, and Labour will soon run out of time to put anything before Parliament.

“Starmer must accept that this appalling deal to hand British sovereign territory and £35 billion of taxpayers' money to an ally of China is now dead in the water. The Conservatives have the led the fight against the Surrender and will not stop fighting until it is scrapped once and for all.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• The Government will reportedly delay legislation for its Chagos Surrender following Donald Trump's condemnation [Politico, ‘UK to ‘pause for thought' on Chagos Islands deal after Trump blast', 19 February 2026 [link].