'Kemi Looks Pretty Stupid': Wes Streeting Swipes At Tory Leader After Trump's Chagos Remarks

Wes Streeting claimed Kemi Badenoch “looks pretty stupid” today after Donald Trump suggested he was likely to support the Chagos handover deal.

The US president told PM Keir Starmer yesterday he was “inclined to go along with” the plan to hand sovereignty over the British overseas territory – which contains a UK-US military base – to Mauritius. 

His comments were a major victory for the PM, especially as Trump was previously believed to be opposed to the proposal over security concerns.

The Conservatives have been trying to discourage the US president from supporting it at all, despite initiating handover discussions when in government.

Health secretary Streeting told Times Radio: “The Conservatives might be suffering from collective amnesia and a huge bout of political opportunism, but Kemi Badenoch looks pretty stupid today doesn’t she?”

Badenoch previously said Starmer should “scrap his disastrous plan to surrender the Chagos islands and have British taxpayers pay for the privilege”.

Under the deal, Britain will allegedly pay Mauritius £9bn over 99 years so the UK-US military base at the largest island in Chagos, Diego Garcia, can continue to operate in the same way as it is now.

But when journalists asked the US president how he felt about the deal during his joint appearance with Starmer in the White House yesterday, Trump said: “I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.”

Indicating he’s likely to support the deal, the US president added: “I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.”

Trump’s words came only a day after the Tories called for him to block the deal.

A Conservative spokesperson said: “The Chagos deal hands over British territory and leaves taxpayers on the hook for billions.

“Other nations are laughing at us and it’s no surprise: when Labour negotiates, Britain loses.”

Trump’s comments will be welcomed by the government, especially after foreign secretary David Lammy had already indicated that Trump had a veto over the deal.

“If President Trump doesn’t like the deal, the deal will not go forward,” Lammy told ITV. “And the reason for that is because we have a shared military and intelligence interest with the United States. And of course, they’ve got to be happy with the deal or there is no deal.”