If Britain wants to remain a reliable partner in our security alliance, it must be willing to defend its sovereignty. As much as President Trump uses unpredictability as a diplomatic tool, I can predict one thing for sure: there is no way he will allow Britain to give up its sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

A British minister denied on Wednesday media reports that the government could end up paying billions of pounds more to Mauritius under a renegotiated deal to retain a U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The UK faces paying more to Mauritius under a renegotiated deal over the future of the Chagos Islands, the prime minister of the African island nation has suggested. Last October, the UK announced it would hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius,