Nigel Farage says he would do shock Chagos Islands deal with Donald Trump if he were PM

According to The Telegraph, Mr Farage told the podcast that, if he were Prime Minister: "I’d have gone in and said, 'Right, you know what, mate? Chagos, it’s yours.' Diego Garcia, in perpetuity, the most strategic American military base in the world, which it is.

"Outside mainline America, Diego is the most important thing America has for nuclear subs, for long-range bombers, for all of it.

"I'd have said, 'Right, I’m guaranteeing you that. I’m giving up on this surrender. In return, just please stop talking about the Falkland Islands. I know you like [Javier] Milei, but this really matters to us’. And there’s a trade, you see."

Mr Farage later added: "I give him something. I ask for something back. He’d get that. He’d understand that. He’s a businessman. He’s a trader."

The leader of Reform faced backlash from Mrs Badenoch, who claimed his comments were a "humiliating" admission that he would cease control of the archipelago.

"Giving away British territory in return for someone keeping quiet is not a deal," she said. "It is humiliating.

"There is no pride in our country in the way he talks about us.

"This is careless, loose talk from a man who wants to be responsible for Britain’s national security."

She described it as "mad for someone who wants to be prime minister to say we should give away one piece of British territory just to stop an American president talking about another".

A Reform spokesman told the newspaper that it was "quite clear Nigel was talking about the Americans using Diego Garcia in perpetuity and not the Chagos Islands as a whole".

They added that "no one has fought harder to save the Chagos Islands from being given away than Nigel".

The Tory leader, however, was unmoved by the distinction, maintaining both territories are indisputably British and should remain so regardless of American pressure.

"When Donald Trump is right, we should say so. When he is wrong, we should have the confidence to tell him," she declared.

The row unfolds against the backdrop of a contentious sovereignty deal initiated under Sir Keir Starmer, which would see Britain cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius whilst retaining control of the Diego Garcia military base.

That agreement was frozen in April following objections from the Trump administration. Andy Burnham, since assuming office, has pledged to press forward with the arrangement and bring Washington on side.

But at a bilateral meeting of Mr Burnham and Donald Trump, the President said the much-maligned deal was "terrible" and highlighted the strategic importance of the joint military base Diego Garcia during the Iran war.

President Trump has meanwhile been making increasingly pointed remarks about the Falkland Islands. In August, he announced a review of America's stance on British sovereignty over the archipelago, linking the move to a dispute over defence spending.

The president has also suggested that Washington might not come to Britain's aid should a future conflict with Argentina arise over the territory.

Argentine President Javier Milei has simultaneously intensified his country's claims to the islands - a sovereignty Argentina has never held in law.

Mr Milei has been accused of "bullying" the Falkland Islands community as tensions reignite over the sovereignty of the territory.

Uma Kumaran, minister for Overseas Territories and Caribbean, today announced a four-step plan to counter Argentina's "escalating campaign" in the region, including "mobilising international partners" to "stand against the intimidation of companies undertaking lawful business."

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will also "deploy the powers available to him under the protection of trading interests legislation against any Argentine measures that seek to influence or regulate lawful activity".