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.

New Delhi has far more influence on Mauritius than may be noticed in Europe. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, then prime minister of Mauritius, at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, Apr. 25, 2022.

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.

A Reform UK MP erupted at Donald Trump after he appeared to back Sir Keir Starmer's deal to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Rupert Lowe warned the agreement is "rotten to the core" and added that the US President was "wrong" on the issue.