Nigel Farage has said the UK should offer Donald Trump the Chagos Islands in return for him staying silent about the Falkland Islands.
The Chagos Islands have proved to be a thorny issue for Labour ever since they won the 2024 general election. Last year, the UK signed a £3.4 billion deal to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and then lease back its largest island, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating a joint US-UK military base there.
The government says the deal is essential to securing the long-term future and security of the base. The deal had initially received support from Donald Trump and the US but he has since U-turned on his support.
At home, the Tories and Reform have been highly critical of the deal and its cost, whilst Andy Burnham has said he will continue to try and get the deal over the line with the US on board.
But whatever your views on the deal, it’s certainly a hell of a lot better than what Nigel Farage would do.
Appearing on a podcast this week, the Reform leader said he would hand over the islands to Trump, in return for silence about the Falklands.
Farage told the Benny Show with Benny Johnson he would offer the US president the archipelago as part of a “trade”, if the US president agreed to “stop talking about the Falkland Islands.”
He said: “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 [Argentina’s president Javier] Milei, but this really matters to us’. And there’s a trade, you see.”
He 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 comments have been slammed by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who labelled them “humiliating.”
Badenoch said it was “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”.
She added: “The Chagos Islands are British. And the Falklands are British and will remain British, irrespective of what the American president says. When Donald Trump is right, we should say so. When he is wrong, we should have the confidence to tell him.”
A Reform spokesperson told the Telegraph 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: “No one has fought harder to save the Chagos Islands from being given away than Nigel. He has even helped repopulate the islands with Chagossians.”
Nigel Farage Says UK Should Give Chagos Islands to Donald Trump
A new political controversy has emerged in Britain after Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, suggested that the United Kingdom should offer the Chagos Islands to United States President Donald Trump in exchange for American support over the Falkland Islands. His comments have sparked criticism from political opponents, particularly Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, who described the proposal as humiliating and questioned Farage’s approach to British sovereignty and national security.
The controversy began after Farage appeared on the American political podcast The Benny Show, hosted by Benny Johnson, in October 2026. During the interview, he discussed Britain’s relationship with the United States, the future of the Chagos Islands and Trump’s increasingly controversial comments about the Falkland Islands. Farage suggested that Britain should use the strategic importance of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago, as a bargaining tool to secure American support for British sovereignty over the Falklands.
Farage explained that he would have approached Trump directly and offered him access to Diego Garcia indefinitely. He suggested that the United States could receive long-term control over the military facility in exchange for agreeing to stop making statements that could undermine Britain’s position on the Falkland Islands.
He described the proposal as a political trade, arguing that Trump was a businessman who understood negotiations based on exchanging something valuable for a specific benefit. Farage believed that offering the American president a strategic advantage could persuade him to respect Britain’s position on the Falklands.
However, his comments immediately attracted criticism because they appeared to suggest that British territory could be used as a bargaining instrument in negotiations with another country.
The Chagos Islands, officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, are located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 1,250 miles north-east of Mauritius. The archipelago consists of more than 50 islands, with Diego Garcia being the largest and most strategically important. The island hosts a major joint military facility used by British and American armed forces.
The military base plays an important role in Western security operations across the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and parts of Asia. Its geographical position allows the United States and the United Kingdom to support military operations, maintain regional security and conduct strategic surveillance. Diego Garcia has also been used to support long-range military aircraft and other defence activities.
For this reason, the future of the Chagos Islands has become a major international political issue involving Britain, Mauritius and the United States.
In May 2025, the British government signed an agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius while retaining control of Diego Garcia through a 99-year lease, with an option to extend the arrangement. The agreement was valued at approximately £3.4 billion over its initial period.
The British government defended the arrangement by arguing that it would protect the long-term operation of the military base and provide legal certainty. Ministers maintained that the agreement was necessary because Mauritius had challenged British sovereignty and international legal pressure had increased over the future status of the islands.
Under the agreement, Mauritius would receive sovereignty over the archipelago, while Britain would continue operating Diego Garcia under the lease arrangement. The government also presented the agreement as an opportunity to address historical injustices suffered by the Chagossian population.
However, the proposal has faced strong opposition from Conservative politicians, Reform UK and some Chagossian activists. Critics argue that Britain should not surrender sovereignty over strategically important territory and question the financial cost of leasing back a military facility that it previously controlled.
The issue is also closely connected to the history of the Chagossian people. Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, Britain forcibly removed thousands of Chagossians from their homes to make way for the construction of the American military base on Diego Garcia. Many were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles, while others eventually settled in Britain.
The displacement caused lasting social and economic difficulties for the Chagossian community. Many families lost their homes, livelihoods and connections to their ancestral islands. Consequently, the future of the archipelago is not simply a question of military strategy or diplomatic negotiations. It is also a matter of historical justice, human rights and the right of displaced people to return to their homeland.
Farage’s proposal has therefore raised additional questions about whether the interests of the Chagossian population are being adequately considered in discussions about the future of the islands.
Another important dimension of the controversy concerns the Falkland Islands. Located in the South Atlantic, the Falklands have been under British administration since 1833, although Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over the territory. The dispute led to the 1982 Falklands War, during which British and Argentine forces fought for control of the islands. British forces eventually regained control, and the issue remains highly sensitive in British politics.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei has repeatedly expressed his country’s claim to the Falklands, while maintaining that the dispute should be resolved through diplomatic negotiations. Donald Trump has also made statements that have raised concerns in Britain about the consistency of American support for British sovereignty.
For the United Kingdom, American support is particularly important because Washington is one of its closest military and diplomatic allies. The special relationship between the two countries has traditionally included extensive defence cooperation, intelligence sharing and diplomatic coordination.
Farage’s suggestion appears to reflect his belief that Britain should adopt a more transactional approach to its relationship with Washington. Rather than relying entirely on historical friendship, he believes Britain should offer something of strategic value to secure American support on an issue considered vital to its national interests.
Nevertheless, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch strongly criticised the proposal. She argued that Britain should not offer one territory to another country simply to persuade its president to remain silent about a separate territorial dispute.
Badenoch described Farage’s comments as humiliating and argued that both the Chagos Islands and the Falkland Islands should be treated as important matters of British sovereignty. She also questioned whether Farage’s approach demonstrated the judgement expected of someone seeking to become prime minister.
She maintained that Britain should be confident enough to disagree with Washington when necessary rather than making territorial concessions to maintain American support.
Reform UK subsequently attempted to clarify Farage’s comments. A party spokesperson argued that he had been referring specifically to guaranteeing American use of Diego Garcia indefinitely, rather than transferring sovereignty over the entire Chagos archipelago to the United States. Farage also insisted that his position was about securing the future of the military base for American use.
This clarification is significant because there is a difference between transferring sovereignty over an entire territory and guaranteeing another country’s long-term military access to a particular facility. Nevertheless, the original language used by Farage created considerable political controversy and raised questions about how such an arrangement would affect Britain’s international responsibilities.
The issue also highlights the complexity of Britain’s relationship with Donald Trump. Although the United States remains an essential strategic ally, Trump’s changing position on the Chagos agreement has created uncertainty for the British government.
His administration previously expressed support for the agreement between Britain and Mauritius. However, in January and February 2026, Trump criticised the arrangement and urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to surrender control of Diego Garcia. His comments raised concerns about whether Washington would continue supporting the agreement.
This changing position demonstrates the difficulties facing British politicians when dealing with an American administration that increasingly emphasises direct negotiations and national strategic interests.
Ultimately, Farage’s proposal has opened a wider debate about British sovereignty, international diplomacy and the future of the special relationship with the United States. His suggestion reflects a transactional approach to foreign policy, in which strategic assets could be exchanged for diplomatic support on another issue. Critics, however, argue that national territory and the rights of local populations should not be treated simply as bargaining tools.
The Chagos dispute also demonstrates that the interests of major powers are not the only considerations. The Chagossian people have a legitimate historical connection to the islands, and their rights and aspirations must remain central to any discussion about the territory’s future.
In conclusion, Nigel Farage’s comments have highlighted the tensions between national security, territorial sovereignty and diplomatic pragmatism. While securing American support for the Falkland Islands is an important objective for Britain, the means of achieving that goal remain controversial. The future of Diego Garcia and the wider Chagos archipelago should be determined through careful consideration of international law, security requirements and the rights of the Chagossian population.
The controversy ultimately raises a fundamental question about Britain’s place in the modern world: should the country prioritise maintaining its traditional alliance with the United States, even if doing so requires major concessions, or should it pursue an independent foreign policy based on its own national interests and international responsibilities? The answer will have implications far beyond the Chagos Islands and the Falklands.