Nigel Farage heads to Mar-a-Lago to discuss Chagos deal with Trump
Nigel Farage will meet Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday to discuss Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal as the war in the Middle East escalates.
Donald Trump has dramatically walked back his support for Sir Keir’s controversial deal in recent weeks, at one point describing it as an act of “gross stupidity”.
Ministers have since insisted discussions are ongoing over the transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, while the government has insisted the deal is necessary to secure the future of the key UK-US Diego Garcia military base.
Mr Farage, who has long opposed the Chagos deal and described it as a “surrender” agreement, said at an event in Westminster on Thursday that he would discuss the issue at Trump’s Florida mansion.
“We think this is the central plank of the government’s foreign policy and we are pushing them back,” Mr Farage said, according to GB News.
“President Trump has almost got the deal, but I’ll have dinner at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night and we’ll amplify the message.”
The Reform UK leader condemned the deal as the “worst deal in history” and an “absolute betrayal”.
He added: “We’ve got to keep fighting, we’ve got to keep the pressure up, we’ve got to keep our foot off this pedal, but for the first time in this fight… this feels like more than winnable.”
Mauritius has said it is considering legal action against the UK over the delay in ratifying Sir Keir’s Chagos Islands deal. Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said, “We are exploring legal avenues in the Chagos case.” Def Media.
However, the UK government is understood to believe that there is no basis in international law for Mauritius to receive compensation if the agreement is not ratified.
Britain agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million a year under a 99-year deal to lease back the site; This represents a total cost of £35bn in cash.
Earlier this week Sir Keir insisted that the special relationship between Britain and the US was “currently operational”, despite having not spoken to Mr Trump since the public backlash over his refusal to authorize initial US strikes on Iran from British bases.
Mr Trump said Britain’s response was “very disappointing” and declared Keir Starmer was “no Winston Churchill”.
Ministers secured US support for the agreement last year. The President even told Sir Keir during his visit to the White House that he “tends to go along with your country” and “has a feeling that things will turn out very well”.
Under the plan, which will cost £35 billion over the next century, Britain will transfer sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius, but will lease back the facility on the island of Diego Garcia.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey posted on his old Twitter account,
