Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage has hit out at MPs (Members of Parliament) after the Chagos deal passed its second reading in the House of Commons.
Mr Farage told GB News he thinks the deal is “the worst” for Britain and Chagossians, and warned America will become “resentful” of the UK as a result.
The Reform leader also revealed he has spoken to people “at reasonably high levels” in America about the deal, but he fears it has become bogged down as the Trump administration deals with a vast array of issues.
MPs voted the bill through with Ayes at 330, while 179 voted against it.
Nigel Farage accused Labour of playing 'student politics'
|GB NEWS / PARLIAMENT
Mr Farage said he still holds out some hope that the House of Lords can stand in its way, but he feels Chagossians have been treated “abominably”.
He told GB News: “The reason Labour is doing this is post-colonial guilt. They see this as being part of what was the British Empire and therefore they should get rid of it at any price.
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“At a human level, Chagossians have been completely ignored. How ironic, for a party that believes in the Human Rights Act, ignoring the human rights of Chagossians.”
Mr Farage said others around the world may sense weakness in Britain and could therefore push for their own payouts.
Hundreds of Chagos Islanders have pushed the Government to reverse its deal | GETTY“If you start to play this game, goodness knows where you end up”, he said.
“This Government does not believe in the national interest. They believe in a bizarre set of international treaties and laws, most of which are hopelessly out of date.
“The Chagossians are our responsibility, and we’re treating them abominably.”
The Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill advances despite fierce resistance from opposition politicians and mounting concerns about the agreement's implications.
The vote represents a significant step towards implementing the controversial deal struck earlier this year, which would see Britain relinquish control of the British Indian Ocean Territory whilst retaining a 99-year lease on the strategically vital Diego Garcia military base.
Financial projections for the agreement have sparked alarm, with initial government estimates of £3.4 billion being challenged by new analysis.
The TaxPayers' Alliance has calculated that the true cost could reach £47 billion when accounting for market inflation predictions that exceed government forecasts.
The projected expense covers the 99-year lease arrangement for the Diego Garcia military installation, which Britain will maintain despite transferring territorial sovereignty to Mauritius by year's end.
Nigel joined Martin Daubney to discuss the deal
|GB NEWS
These escalating cost estimates have intensified criticism of the deal's financial viability.
More than 40 British politicians have written to Donald Trump urging him to intervene against the Chagos agreement, describing it as a "deliberate act of strategic self-harm" by the United Kingdom.
The signatories include former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, ex-defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps, and former home secretary Suella Braverman, alongside a Labour MP, peers, military veterans, legal experts and national security professionals.
Their letter warns that ceding the islands would severely compromise British and American security interests, particularly endangering the US military installation at Diego Garcia.
The Prime Minister has handed back the British-owned Chagos Islands to Mauritius after 200 years | GB NewsThe appeal comes as President Trump prepares for his state visit to Britain and scheduled talks with Sir Keir Starmer.
Sir Keir has been referred to the International Criminal Court by campaigners representing the Chagossian community, who accuse him of crimes against humanity.
The referral alleges that Starmer and former foreign secretary David Lammy have "knowingly perpetuated crimes against humanity" through their failure to permit displaced Chagossians to return to their homeland.
The complaint characterises the forced removal of Chagossians during the 1960s and 1970s as "one of the longest-standing and most egregious cases of displacement in modern history."
According to the ICC submission, by endorsing the May 22, 2025 agreement, the Prime Minister has "knowingly entrenched deportation, persecution and other inhumane acts."
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