Britain and Mauritius denied on Wednesday media reports that London could end up paying double the amount in a renegotiated deal to retain a U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

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.

Progress on the Chagos deal has slowed since Donald Trump was consulted on it, despite previous efforts to get it signed before he was sworn in in January.