Britain has not paused Chagos Island deal ratification after US criticism

LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Britain on Wednesday rowed back from saying it had paused ratification of a deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, which is home to a strategically important U.S.-UK air base.

Earlier a foreign office minister had told parliament that the ratification process had been paused pending talks with the United States, but a spokesperson later said that was not the case.

"There is no pause. We have never set a deadline. Timings will be announced in the usual way," the spokesperson said.

"We are continuing discussions with the U.S., and we have been clear we will not proceed without their support."

Last year British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed a deal to transfer sovereignty of the Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius, while keeping control of Diego Garcia through a 99-year lease that preserved U.S. operations there.

But Trump last week renewed his criticism of that deal, saying Starmer was making a "big mistake".

The bill to ratify the deal is currently in parliament's upper chamber where a number of objections have been raised and a debate and vote has not yet been scheduled.

(Reporting by William James, Sam Tabahriti, Elizabeth Piper and Sarah Young, editing by Michael Holden)