Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has been accused of spreading “fake news” about Nigel Farage’s position on the Chagos Islands, after a senior US official reportedly rejected Conservative claims that he wanted to give them away.
The row began after Farage recently suggested on a podcast that he would offer Donald Trump use of the Diego Garcia military base in exchange for the US president dropping his comments about the Falkland Islands. Badenoch accused Farage of proposing to give away British territory.
Reform UK MP Andrew Rosindell has said that the Conservatives were misleading the public to distract from their own record.
“The Conservatives did nothing in 14 years to deal with this issue”, he said. “Nigel Farage is the one leading politician in this country whose position has been totally consistent: to keep Chagos British and to give the Chagossian people the right of self-determination.”
According to The Times’ Katy Balls, a senior US administration official said Farage was “obviously referring to the use of the Diego Garcia military base”. The official accused those claiming otherwise of “peddling fake news and undermining the Anglo-American relationship”.
Rosindell said: “So why are the Conservatives misleading the British people over what Nigel has said? I’ll tell you why: because they are guilty. Guilty of failing to give the Chagossians the same rights as we give the other overseas territories, and guilty of starting these horrendous negotiations with Mauritius.
“It was the Conservative government that started this entire process that Keir Starmer then carried on with. We would dump the whole thing.”
A Reform UK spokesman accused Badenoch of risking a diplomatic row with Britain’s allies, saying: “Nigel has been the most fiercely outspoken man on the Chagos sellout.”
Misley Mandarin, interim First Minister of the Chagossian Government, also backed Farage. “Kemi and the Conservatives cannot be trusted by the Chagos people”, he said. “We know Nigel has the Chagossians at heart.”
Rosindell pledged: “Reform UK will keep the Chagos Islands British forever and will allow the Chagossian people the right to determine the future of their homeland.”
The row began after Farage recently suggested on a podcast that he would offer Donald Trump use of the Diego Garcia military base in exchange for the US president dropping his comments about the Falkland Islands. Badenoch accused Farage of proposing to give away British territory.
Reform UK MP Andrew Rosindell has said that the Conservatives were misleading the public to distract from their own record.
“The Conservatives did nothing in 14 years to deal with this issue”, he said. “Nigel Farage is the one leading politician in this country whose position has been totally consistent: to keep Chagos British and to give the Chagossian people the right of self-determination.”
According to The Times’ Katy Balls, a senior US administration official said Farage was “obviously referring to the use of the Diego Garcia military base”. The official accused those claiming otherwise of “peddling fake news and undermining the Anglo-American relationship”.
Rosindell said: “So why are the Conservatives misleading the British people over what Nigel has said? I’ll tell you why: because they are guilty. Guilty of failing to give the Chagossians the same rights as we give the other overseas territories, and guilty of starting these horrendous negotiations with Mauritius.
“It was the Conservative government that started this entire process that Keir Starmer then carried on with. We would dump the whole thing.”
A Reform UK spokesman accused Badenoch of risking a diplomatic row with Britain’s allies, saying: “Nigel has been the most fiercely outspoken man on the Chagos sellout.”
Misley Mandarin, interim First Minister of the Chagossian Government, also backed Farage. “Kemi and the Conservatives cannot be trusted by the Chagos people”, he said. “We know Nigel has the Chagossians at heart.”
Rosindell pledged: “Reform UK will keep the Chagos Islands British forever and will allow the Chagossian people the right to determine the future of their homeland.”
