Keir Starmer accused of being 'hopelessly weak' as Donald Trump eyes up Chagos Islands takeover: 'Completely bonkers!'

Tory MP Mark Francois has launched a scathing attack on Sir Keir Starmer's "hopelessly weak socialist Government" as a fresh row over the Chagos Islands has begun.

Speaking to GB News, the Shadow Defence Minister hit out at the Prime Minister's "bonkers" surrender deal for the territory amid plans from Donald Trump to "buy" the islands.

According to The Telegraph, the White House has drawn up a number of options to buy the territory after Sir Keir pledged to hand over control of the islands to Mauritius, allied with China and Iran.

The surrender could prove problematic for the strategically important Diego Garcia military base, which is currently jointly operated by the US and the UK.

Discussing the latest bid by Mr Trump to purchase the Chagos Islands, Mr Francois told GB News that the territory is "British and should remain British".

He said: "We fought Labour's bonkers plan tooth and nail in Parliament for a year, we went into the weeds of all of the various treaties that have affected it.

"The International Telecommunications Union, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, in every case we proved in debate that Labour's claims that Mauritius had a claim over the islands were legally rubbish."

Mr Francois praised US President Donald Trump for "effectively vetoing the deal" put forward by Sir Keir.

The Tory MP explained: "He can do that because in 1966, we and the United States signed a treaty that said Britain could never cede control of those islands without the written consent of America.

"That treaty is still extant, so President Trump doesn't need to buy the Chagos Islands to stop them falling into Chinese hands, because even Keir Starmer can't give them away."

Mr Francois argued: "Unless the President signs a letter to let him do that, effectively there's no need to buy the Chagos Islands, because the Americans already have a legally cast-iron written veto."

Asked by host Christopher Hope why the left side of politics is not "engaging with the debate" surrounding the Islands, Mr Francois said that the left suffers a "blind spot when it comes to sovereignty generally".

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He told GB News: "Be that with regard to the Chagos Islands, or be that with regards to protecting our borders. Because Labour look weak on this, there are now people in Cyprus who were laying claim to the sovereign base areas, which is another vital strategic base.

"The Argentinians are trying to renew their claim to the Falkland Islands, Spain has put more pressure on us over Gibraltar. Because this is such a hopelessly weak socialist Government in this country, others around the world have have sensed that, they sniffed it.

"And so they are trying to now crimp our sovereignty, not just in Chagos but around the globe. That's the real danger of Starmer and his acolytes in Government."

Offering support for Mr Trump's potential purchase of the territory, Chairman of Republicans Overseas UK, Greg Swenson, declared it a "no-brainer".

Mr Swenson told GB News: "I think it's a great idea. I wouldn't have said that two years ago before the hopeless socialist Government tried to give it away, so I agree with Mark.

"I wish it wasn't necessary, but given that they are doing their best to give it away essentially into the hands of an adversary and friend of China, friend of Iran, for a bunch of reasons it's a no brainer."

In a statement, a Government spokesman said: "The Government inherited a situation where UK control over the military base on Diego Garcia was under threat and action was required to protect UK national interests and to prevent our adversaries from getting a foothold in a location of such strategic importance.

"Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US, which has protected our shared security for nearly 60 years.

"Maintaining long-term operational control and security of Diego Garcia is the entire basis for the UK-Mauritius Agreement, an agreement borne out of the real long-term risks to the base of which both the UK and US are very well aware."