Badenoch Slams Farage Over Chagos 'Trade' With Trump
Kemi Badenoch brands Nigel Farage’s Chagos-Trump 'trade' idea as 'humiliating' — but White House and Reform UK deny it meant surrendering sovereignty.
Kemi Badenoch has launched a fierce attack on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, labelling his suggestion to 'trade' the Chagos Islands for Donald Trump’s silence on the Falklands as 'humiliating' [1]. Speaking after Farage appeared on The Benny Show podcast, Badenoch accused him of proposing to 'give away British territory in return for someone keeping quiet' [2]. Farage reportedly told the US-based podcast he would have offered Trump 'Chagos, in perpetuity' — referring to the Diego Garcia military base — in exchange for Trump ceasing his criticism of British sovereignty over the Falklands [3].
Farage later clarified he meant only to offer the use of Diego Garcia to the US indefinitely, not to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands [2]. The White House has backed this interpretation, with a senior official telling The Times that no one in the administration saw the comments as an offer to surrender the archipelago [1]. 'Anyone claiming otherwise is peddling fake news and undermining the Anglo-American relationship,' the official said.
Reform UK has fired back at Badenoch, accusing her of spreading 'fake news' and risking diplomatic fallout with allies [3]. A party spokesman called her claims a 'diplomatic blunder' and accused the Conservatives of being 'the Nasty Party'. Meanwhile, Misley Mandarin, self-declared first minister of the Chagossian government in exile, said Badenoch 'cannot be trusted' and praised Farage for standing with the Chagossian people.
The sovereignty of the Chagos Islands remains a contentious issue, with a treaty to transfer control to Mauritius paused after Trump called it 'terrible' [3]. Argentina has also intensified its stance on the Falklands, with President Milei launching a legal challenge to halt British exploration at the Sea Lion oilfield. Foreign Office minister Uma Kumaran affirmed the UK would 'do whatever it takes' to support the Falkland Islanders [2].
The claim that Farage intended to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands has been reported by one source only — Badenoch — and has not been confirmed by other outlets or officials [1]. The story was first reported by Mirror and Metro.
Sources
This article is based on reporting by the outlets below.
- Mirror: Kemi Badenoch brands Nigel Farage idea to 'trade' Chagos Islands with Donald Trump 'humiliating'
- Metro: Nigel Farage says he would ‘give Chagos Islands’ to ‘close friend’ Donald Trump
- The Independent: Badenoch and Farage embroiled in furious row over Falklands and Chagos Islands
