Nigel Farage torn apart in the Commons over Chagos Islands concerns

'I'm surprised he has the gall to come here & talk about national security.'

On Monday, the bill handing sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius passed its third reading in the Commons. The deal will see the islands then lease the Diego Garcia military base back to the UK, which will retain control of the UK-US base.

During a debate in the Commons ahead of a vote on bill, Farage raised concerns to Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty.

He told the chamber: “Mauritius will not honour the terms of this treaty. Mauritius is poor. It is on the verge of bankruptcy. It will be bought by Chinese money, and China is negotiating leases already.

“If you want further proof of what will upset the American president, Huawei, which of course he railed against getting into the UK’s 5G system, is already installing its ‘safe city’ cameras all over Mauritius. None of this makes any sense.

“I do wonder what the role of our National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell, is in all of this.”

The Clacton MP was put back in his box by Doughty though, who said he was “surprised” Farage “has the gall to come here and talk about national security when the former leader of his party in Wales admitted taking bribes from Russia.”

Doughty accused Farage of “yet again using talking points right from the Kremlin, blaming Nato for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

“Absolutely shameful,” he added.

Doughty went on to point out how the Mauritian attorney general had condemned Farage for tweets in which he claimed Mauritius was negotiating with China.

He also highlighted how Donald Trump’s administration has backed the UK deal with Mauritius, saying it “secured the operational capabilities” of Diego Garcia.

Doughty finished by asking why the US would be backing the deal if any of Farage’s claims were true.