Sir Keir Starmer is trying to rush through a treaty giving away the Chagos Islands before Donald Trump becomes US president, The Telegraph can reveal.

It comes amid mounting speculation that Mr Trump could oppose the deal to hand over the islands in the Indian Ocean to Mauritius, which was backed by Joe Biden.

While the US is not directly involved in the decision, its support is critical because it has a military base on Diego Garcia, one of the islands.

Senior Republicans have been critical of the deal, as has Nigel Farage, the Reform leader and ally of Mr Trump.

There are concerns it could harm US national security because Mauritius is an ally of China.