Donald Trump was "very disappointed" in Sir Keir Starmer after he blocked the US from using the Diego Garcia military base to carry out strikes on Iran.
In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, the US president said the refusal was unlike anything that had “happened between our countries before” and the prime minister "took far too long" to change his mind.
The UK had denied permission for US forces to launch strikes from bases including Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford, citing concerns over international law.
However, the Starmer relented on Sunday night and said the US would be granted access to Diego Garcia for “specific and limited defensive purposes”.
The dispute prompted Donald Trump to withdraw his support for the Labour leaders proposed deal to transfer ownership of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while leasing back the military base.
Trump told The Telegraph: “All of a sudden [Mauritius] was claiming ownership. He should have fought it out and owned it or make him take it, if you want to know the truth.
"But no, we were very disappointed in Keir.”
Trump criticised the handling of the negotiations, saying the UK should have “fought it out and owned it”.
On Monday evening, Starmer told said his government did “not believe in regime change from the skies” and stressed that any military action in the Middle East must be lawful and carefully considered.