Minister plays down Trump’s claim Chagos deal is ‘act of great stupidity’, claiming Starmer’s relationship with president is ‘working’ – UK politics live
Chief secretary to Keir Starmer inists that British diplomacy with the US was still workingGood morning. Yesterday, at his press conference in Downing Street, Keir Starmer said he wanted to restrict the amount of time that toddlers spend with their screens. He probably was not thinking of Donald...
<p>Chief secretary to Keir Starmer inists that British diplomacy with the US was still working</p><p>Good morning. Yesterday, at his press conference in Downing Street, Keir Starmer said he wanted to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jan/19/keir-starmer-greenland-tariffs-donald-trump-uk-politics-latest-news-updates?page=with%3Ablock-696e00788f08fe8c0be1bb2e#block-696e00788f08fe8c0be1bb2e">restrict the amount of time that toddlers spend with their screens</a>. He probably was not thinking of Donald Trump, but Trump’s egotism, greed and lack of self control mean that he is regularly compared to a young child and, within the last couple of hours, on a flight from the US to Davos, he has been glued to his screen, firing off inflammatory posts on his Truth Social network.</p><p>For Starmer, the most embarrassing is one criticising the UK’s decision to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius (in return for an agreement that the UK and the US will still be able to use the Diego Garcia military base for at least another 99 years). The Trump administation approved the deal when it was negotiated, accepting the Downing Street argument that this would remove the risk of the UK and the US losing access to Diego Garcia under interntational law. Trump now <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115926047595803521">says</a> this is a sign of “total weakness” and “great stupidity”.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jan/20/chagos-donald-trump-keir-starmer-greenland-uk-politics-live">Continue reading...</a>
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