Former defence secretary accuses Nigel Farage of ‘performing Maga stunt’ with failed Chagos ‘aid mission’
Nigel Farage has been accused of “Maga stunts” by a former defense minister after a plan to send aid to the Chagos Islands was blocked.
The Reformation UK leader had flown to the Maldives to join a delegation carrying food and medicine to support four Chagossians trying to establish a permanent base on a deserted island as part of a mission to establish a colony in their former homeland.
Mr Farage had boarded a boat carrying food and medicine preparing to make the 24-hour journey to Ile du Coin, 300 miles from the Maldives.
But sources said Telegram The plans failed because UK authorities insisted that only trained crew be on board.
The newspaper reported that Mr Farage, who was expected to return to the UK on Saturday night, received a phone call from a senior source in the Maldives government warning him that British officials wanted him to be prevented from setting foot on the island.
Former defense secretary Ben Wallace accused him of Trump-style demonstrations, saying no MP could visit the archipelago without prior permission.
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Sir Ben, who served as defense minister from July 2019 to August 2023 in the previous Conservative government, was referring to Mr Farage’s announcement this week of his senior team, which includes spokespeople for education, home affairs, the economy and business.
A defense spokesperson has not yet been appointed by the party.
Following the incident, the Reform leader said: “The British government made every effort to prevent me from going to the Chagos Islands. It asked the Maldives government to prevent me from leaving and setting foot on the boat.”
“This was information conveyed to me by a senior official of the Maldives government. I cannot believe that such an attempt was made to prevent a British citizen from reaching British territory.”
“My source told me that the British were ‘very worried’ about me and wanted to know why I was here. This trip is a humanitarian mission and I don’t want my presence to jeopardize that.”
Four Chagossians traveled to the island on Tuesday to protest the government’s agreement to transfer sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.
The agreement was subject to intense criticism both at home and abroad; Donald Trump threw the deal into doubt after launching a new attack on the plans this week.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump called on Sir Keir Starmer to “not give away Diego Garcia”, an island in the archipelago that hosts a joint UK-US military base, despite Washington signaling official support for the deal on Tuesday.
Thousands of people were forcibly removed from the archipelago in the 1960s and 70s for the construction of the air base.
