A heated exchange took place on GB News this evening as a guest confronted Labour MP Barry Gardiner over what he described as "giving away" British territory only to lease it back.
The confrontation comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed an agreement formally ceding British control of the Chagos Archipelago to the Mauritian government, with arrangements for Britain and the United States to lease back the strategically important Diego Garcia military base.
The GB News guest challenged Gardiner directly, asking: "Common sense point: why are we giving away this land and then renting it back? Why?"
The Labour MP defended the government's position, responding: "We're not giving it away. We're not giving it away because it was never ours."
The GB News guest challenged Gardiner directly
GB News
Panellist Adam Brookes added: "At the moment, we have, in my opinion, a coward and a fraud who is selling out British territory for whatever reasons he's doing it.
"For me, the analogy is like me giving away my garden shed to a friend and then paying my friend to use my own garden shed at the end of the day.
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"That would just be madness. We are not due to do this at all.
"There is no pressure for us to do this. No one can take these islands. No one can take these islands off us. If it goes to an assembly, we've got veto powers.
"It makes no sense. And the British public now are waking up to corruption, idiots, impotence, incompetence in politics."
Prime Minister Starmer signed the agreement transferring sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on Thursday, despite a temporary injunction from the British High Court that was later lifted.
The deal allows Mauritius to lease the Diego Garcia military base back to Britain and the United States.
Starmer noted that the "full rationale" behind the decision remains "highly classified" but suggested that failure to reach a settlement could have led to Mauritius pursuing legal action in international courts, where Britain was likely to lose and potentially face additional penalties.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the agreement, describing it as "a historic deal."
Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs that "without this deal, within weeks, we could face losing legal rulings and within just a few years the base would become inoperable".
Barry Gardiner hit back saying "it was never ours to give"
GB NEWS
The Government has defended the decision, arguing that without the deal, the operation of the Diego Garcia base would become unworkable, posing a greater threat to UK security.
Ministers feared that UN rulings against Britain would soon become legally binding, potentially interfering with the running of the base.
Officials claimed that satellite communications could be threatened, contractors might refuse to visit for fear of being sued, and aircraft operations could face challenges under international rules.
The Government also argued that without an agreement, there would be no legal ban preventing Mauritius from allowing foreign powers like China to establish a presence on the islands.
