Nigel Farage is set to meet Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago mansion on Friday to discuss Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal, as the war in the Middle East escalates.
Mr Trump has dramatically U-turned on his support for Sir Keir’s controversial agreement in recent weeks, at one point describing it as an act of “great stupidity”.
Since then, ministers have insisted that discussions over handing the Chagos Islands to Mauritius are continuing, with the government insisting the deal is necessary to secure the future of the crucial UK-US Diego Garcia military base.
Mr Farage, who has long opposed the Chagos deal and dubbed it a “surrender” treaty, told an event in Westminster on Thursday that he would discuss it at Mr Trump’s estate in Florida.
“We think this is the central plan for this government’s foreign policy and we are beating them back,” Mr Farage said, according to GB News.
“President Trump has almost understood the deal, but I will be dining at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night, and we will reinforce the message.”
The Reform UK leader denounced the agreement as “the worst deal in history” and an “absolute betrayal”.
He added: “We have got to keep fighting, we have got to keep the pressure up, we must not let our foot off this pedal, but for first time in this battle... this feels more than winnable.”
Meanwhile, Mauritius has said it is considering legal action against the UK over the delay in ratifying Sir Keir’s Chagos Islands deal. “We are exploring legal avenues in the Chagos case,” Navin Ramgoolam, the Mauritian prime minister, told Defi Media.
However, it is understood that the UK government believes there are no grounds in international law for Mauritius to obtain compensation if the treaty is not ratified.
The UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120m annually during the 99-year agreement to lease back the site, a total cost in cash terms of £35bn.
Earlier this week, Sir Keir insisted the special relationship between the UK and the US is “in operation right now” despite not having spoken to Mr Trump since a very public fallout over his refusal to allow initial US strikes on Iran from British bases.
Mr Trump said Britain's response had been “very disappointing” and declared that Keir Starmer is “not Winston Churchill”.
Ministers secured US backing for the deal last year. The president even told Sir Keir during a visit to the White House that he was “inclined to go with your country” and that he had “a feeling it’s going to work out very well”.
Under the plan, the UK will cede sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius but lease back the facility on the island of Diego Garcia.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey posted on X: “I see Farage is off to Mar-a-Lago to talk down Britain and suck up to Trump. There's nothing patriotic about cheering on a foreign leader whose illegal war is sending British families’ energy bills through the roof.”
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