James Cleverly has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing him of turning "nasty" and "vindictive" following the controversial handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
The criticism comes just hours after Starmer confirmed he had signed an agreement transferring sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory in a deal that will cost the UK £101million per year.
Starmer suggested in a press conference that those opposing the controversial agreement were aligned with hostile nations.
He said: "Russia, China, Iran and surprisingly, the leader of the opposition and Nigel Farage are in that column alongside Russia, China and Iran rather than the column that has the UK and its allies in it."
James Cleverly blasts 'nasty vindictive' move from Keir Starmer after Chagos deal
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Speaking about these comments, Cleverly said: "Obviously, Kemi is a colleague and friend. I know Nigel well. We disagree on many things, but to suggest that he somehow, and that we, are on the side of Putin or Beijing is really quite disgusting.
"Bearing in mind that the legal precedent that he is claiming he has to follow, and he says that we have to do this because of legal pressure, which is nonsense.
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"But the judge who gave that opinion at the International Court of Justice was a Chinese judge.
"The Russians have voted at the UN to say the UK should give up sovereignty to Mauritius. These are the things that we are opposing.
"To suggest that Kemi, that my party, that Nigel, are somehow siding with our competitors and enemies is really, really deeply inappropriate.
"It seems that Keir Starmer has got a bit of a habit. Whenever he's under pressure, whenever he's struggling to justify his actions whether it's stripping winter fuel payments off of pensioners, or giving away UK sovereign territory he turns into this rather nasty, vindictive character.
"Whether he was rude to Liz Saville Roberts in the chamber, or making these baseless accusations at the press conference, it's a really bad trait. And he does it when he knows he's on the wrong side of the argument.
"So watch out, because when he behaves like that, it's because he knows he's in the wrong."
Starmer confirmed today that he has signed an agreement to hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Speaking from the UK's military headquarters, the Prime Minister announced the historic deal which includes leasing back the strategically important Diego Garcia base at a cost of £101million annually.
Starmer hinted that those who disagreed are aligned with hostile nations
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The announcement came just hours before Cleverly's criticism, with Starmer emphasising the base is "one of the most significant contributions that we make to our security relationship with the United States".
Speaking about the Diego Garcia military base, Starmer emphasised its strategic importance to Britain's security relationship with the United States. He presented the deal as a necessary step to protect British interests in the region.
The Prime Minister characterised the decision as one where "we've no choice but to act" given the geopolitical and legal considerations surrounding the territory.
