Reform UK leader says he was told Diego Garcia was ‘most important island on planet’ by senior adviser to new president. 'We are where we are' - minister plays down prospect of UK realigning with EU standards to boost trade 15:16Helena Horton Speaking at the Agricultural Industries Confederation conference this morning,

The UK's deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius will be met with "outright hostility” by the Trump administration, Nigel Farage has predicted. The Reform UK leader, a supporter and friend of the incoming US president, told MPs the agreement would put the UK at odds with an important ally.

U.S. President-elect Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, Mark Rubio, told POLITICO last month that he fears the deal would boost China and warned the agreement poses “a serious threat” to U.S. national security. The Independent reported Wednesday that Trump's new team could even try to veto the deal.

Donald Trump has appointed a leading critic of the UK’s Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius as his national security adviser, in the clearest indication yet that the president-elect will oppose the plan.

Reuters

Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to give up the Chagos Islands is a “sneaky agreement” that Donald Trump must block, the leader of a Chagos citizens’ group has said. Vanessa Calou, the co-head of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Citizens platform,