尼克曾报道过现代英国政治史上最动荡的时期之一，期间见证了四位首相的兴衰，此前他一直是布鲁塞尔的驻地记者，全程跟进英国退出欧盟的谈判。英国夏令时下午3:59，赫尔默勋爵声称，唐纳德·特朗普因工党拒绝支持伊朗战争而撤回了对交出查戈斯群岛的支持。
Nick has covered one of the most turbulent periods in modern British political history, encompassing the rise and fall of four prime ministers, and was previously a correspondent in Brussels throughout the negotiations for the UK’s exit from the European Union 3:59pm BST Lord Hermer has claimed that Donald Trump withdrew his support for the Chagos Islands giveaway because Labour refused to back the war in Iran.
前司法部长表示，美国总统最初对该协议“非常支持”，但在英国拒绝参与打击行动后，他转而反对该协议。部长们承认，由于白宫的坚决反对，该协议实际上已经夭折。
The former attorney general said the US president had initially been “very supportive” of the deal but turned against it after Britain refused to get involved in the strikes. Ministers have conceded that the agreement is effectively dead as a result of the White House’s steadfast opposition.
凯尔·斯塔默爵士曾达成协议，将查戈斯群岛移交给毛里求斯，随后再支付37亿英镑租回迪戈加西亚岛——该岛上设有一个主要的美国空军基地。
Sir Keir Starmer struck a deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and then pay £3.7bn to lease back Diego Garcia, the site of a major US air base.
作为他的首席法律顾问，赫尔默勋爵在谈判该协议中发挥了关键作用，但该协议因成本高昂而受到工党议员的批评。
As his chief legal adviser, Lord Hermer was instrumental in negotiating the pact, which was criticised by Labour MPs over its cost.
禁止美国从迪戈加西亚军事基地对伊朗发动空袭的决定激怒了特朗普。该协议原定今年早些时候签署，但因特朗普在二月份于社交媒体上发文称英国“正在犯一个大错误”而被叫停。
The decision to bar US strikes on Iran from the Diego Garcia military base angered Mr Trump The deal was meant to be signed earlier this year, but it was pulled after Mr Trump posted on social media in February that the UK was “making a big mistake”.
就在同一时期，斯塔默爵士拒绝了白宫的请求，不允许使用迪戈加西亚和RAF Fairford基地对伊朗发动空袭。
At around the same time, Sir Keir turned down a request from the White House to use Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford to launch air strikes against Iran.
赫尔默勋爵对《时代》广播电台表示：“显然，美国政府，特别是特朗普总统的立场发生了变化。他们一开始非常支持这项协议。
Lord Hermer told Times Radio: “There was obviously a change in view by the US administration, by President Trump. They were very supportive of it to begin with.
“随后，由于我们决定不参与他们在伊朗的行动，特朗普总统的态度也随之改变。”
“Then following the decisions that we took not to join them in their Iran endeavour, there was a change from President Trump.
我所知的是，英国所作出的决定始终围绕确保该基地的长期未来，因为其从国家安全角度来看具有重要意义。” 这代表了前司法部长的罕见干预，他在担任部长期间颇具争议，但自离职以来基本保持沉默。
“What I do know is the decisions that were taken from the UK were always about securing the long-term future of the base because of its importance from a national security perspective.”It represents a rare intervention from the former attorney general, who was controversial as a minister but has remained largely silent since leaving office.
他在任职期间，10号唐宁街主张，移交这些岛屿是必要的，因为这是为了确保空军基地的未来，原因在于国际法院发布的一项咨询意见。
When he was in post, No 10 argued the handover of the islands was necessary to secure the future of the air base because of an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice.
在该不具约束力的咨询意见中，法院支持毛里求斯的主权主张——尽管毛里求斯距离该群岛1300英里，甚至不是该群岛最近的邻国。
In the non-binding opinion, the court backed sovereignty claims by Mauritius – which at 1,300 miles away is not even the archipelago’s closest neighbour.
政府律师担心，毛里求斯未来可能在法庭上赢得对这些岛屿的全部主张，而这一主张随后可能得到其他国家的支持。
Government lawyers feared that Mauritius could in future win a full claim to the islands in court which would then be backed by other countries.
但反对党议员们对这一论点持嘲讽态度，并指责赫尔默勋爵盲目追求对国际法的过度顺从。
But Opposition MPs have poured scorn on that argument and accused Lord Hermer of pursuing an overly slavish adherence to international law.
特朗普将该协议描述为“一个极其愚蠢的举动”，并似乎驳斥英国支持该协议的论点，称其“本质上是虚构的”。
Mr Trump described the deal as an “act of great stupidity” and appeared to dismiss the UK’s arguments in favour of it as “fictitious in nature”.
他在2月18日于其Truth Social平台上写道：“美国可能需要使用迪戈加西亚岛来对伊朗发动打击。”
Writing on his Truth Social platform on Feb 18, he said “it may be necessary for the United States to use Diego Garcia” to launch strikes against Iran.
“斯塔默首相不应因任何原因而失去对迪戈加西亚岛的控制，即便是通过签订最多只有100年期限的脆弱租约。”
“Prime minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia, by entering a tenuous, at best, 100-year lease,” the US president wrote.
“这片土地不应被夺走离开英国，如果允许如此，这将成为我们伟大盟友的污点。
“This land should not be taken away from the UK and if it is allowed to be, it will be a blight on our great ally.
‘我们将始终准备好、愿意并且有能力为英国而战，但他们必须在面对觉醒主义及其他摆在他们面前的问题时保持坚强。’”特朗普上个月在纽约与安迪·伯纳姆会面时重申了他对该协议的反对，并在首相面前将其描述为“可怕的”。
“We will always be ready, willing and able to fight for the UK, but they have to remain strong in the face of wokeism and other problems put before them.”Mr Trump repeated his objection to the agreement at a meeting with Andy Burnham in New York last month, describing it to the Prime Minister’s face as “terrible”.
当被问及该协议是否已经失效时，伯纳姆表示他“充满信心”能够通过与美国合作伙伴共同努力来解决这一问题。
Asked whether the agreement was now dead, Mr Burnham said he was “confident” he could find a solution to the issue “working with our US partners”.