Burnham floats Greenland-style rework of Chagos Islands deal

Andy Burnham wants to tear up and rebuild Britain's deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after Washington made clear it wasn't having it. Speaking to the Economist, he said he wanted 'a new discussion' with the US over the disputed islands, which are home to the Diego Garcia military base. Britain is 'very engaged' and 'working hard' on it, he said — but he didn't pretend it was easy: 'it is challenging.'

His template? Greenland. Burnham pointed to the arrangement the US struck with Denmark after months of threats, saying 'maybe there is something there we can take from that' for Diego Garcia. Under that deal, Greenland stays a Danish territory while the US is allowed to develop a significant military presence there, and its adversaries are barred from building their own bases on the island. Washington has suggested the Chagos agreement could be modelled the same way.

The original Chagos deal was signed by former prime minister Keir Starmer's government. It would have transferred sovereignty to Mauritius while Britain kept control of the joint UK-US base on Diego Garcia under a 99-year lease, with Mauritius receiving £165m for three years and £120m a year from the fourth year onwards. Then Donald Trump blew it up, telling reporters in September after a bilateral meeting with Burnham in New York: 'I don't support it – I think it's a terrible deal.'

The money has since stopped moving. Defence secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC that payments to Mauritius have been suspended while London and Washington work out a compromise. 'This deal as it is currently constituted can't go ahead without American support,' he said, adding any replacement needs to win over the US as well as the governments of Mauritius and the UK.

Burnham was speaking on the flight home from Antigua, where the Commonwealth heads of government summit was dominated by Caribbean demands for slavery reparations. He insisted his government had moved the issue forward by opening up the possibility of an official apology: 'I think we have done something, we've achieved something out there.' He also confirmed Vladimir Putin will be barred from the G20 he hosts in Manchester next year because of an outstanding sanction, while China's Xi Jinping is welcome — Xi visited the city in 2015, and Burnham noted he'll see 'a big difference' on his return.

Next on the calendar: an EU summit in Brussels, which Burnham says is the moment for Britain to start thinking about its longer-term relationship with the bloc and whether it should rejoin. His '10-year plan' — aides say it lays out a long-term vision including public control over key parts of the economy — could slip to December or January, past its promised launch this year. He swatted down reports it would be short on detail: 'It will be substantial, and it will also be – well, in my view, it will be compelling because I am weaving the different threads together.'