US President Donald Trump has indicated he would be prepared to back Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The agreement includes a plan to lease back the strategically important US-UK military base on Diego Garcia at British taxpayers' expense.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was inclined to back a deal between Britain and Mauritius over the future of a U.S.-UK military base in the Chagos Islands, in a boost for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The president said he was "inclined to do along" with it just a day after the Tories urged him to block the agreement.