Nigel Farage has slapped down the BBC and insisted “allies don’t betray” in a clash over Sir Keir Starmer’s deal to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Appearing on Newsnight, the Reform leader said the government’s plans for the Chagos Islands are “at odds” with the incoming Donald Trump administration.
He said: “We have to be an ally to Donald Trump. Allies don’t betray.
“Allies don’t betray the military of the United States without which we would be defenceless.”
The BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire pressed Mr Farage on why it would be a “betrayal” if Sir Keir’s Government was in agreement with Joe Biden’s administration and the Mauritian Government.
He said: “Joe Biden’s administartion, on the way out, raised no objections. I didn’t hear any warm words of encouragement and it was perfectly obviosu, perfectly obvious, that the Trump administration would view this in a very negative light.”
Mr Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, warned in October that the agreement posed “a serious threat” to US national security by handing over the islands to a country allied with China.
Under the terms of the deal, the UK-US military presence on Diego Garcia is expected to run for 99 years with an option to renew, with Britain paying a regular annual sum of money.
The Government has insisted it had to strike a deal to protect the ongoing operation of the base after an International Court of Justice ruling that the UK’s administration of the British Indian Ocean Territory was “unlawful” and must end.