Nigel Farage turned away from Chagos Islands by strict border controls | News World

Nigel Farage has long been a staunch advocate for strong borders and curbing migration.

However, it was the Reform UK leader’s turn to face border controls when he was refused entry to the Chagos Islands this weekend after travelling nearly 6,000 miles to the restricted military base.

In a video shared on social media, Mr Farage said he was on a mission to bring aid to support four Chagossians aiming to colonise a deserted island.

Mr Farage, 51, had attempted to arrive by boat at Ile du Coin from the Maldives, 300 miles away, on Saturday.

The Reform leader insisted he had been told by a ‘senior figure’ that he had been blocked by the UK government from delivering the food and medicine.

He said: ‘The British government has made every effort to prevent me heading towards the Chagos Islands. They have asked the Maldives government to stop me from leaving here and setting foot on the boat.

‘This was information conveyed to me by a senior figure in the Maldives government. I cannot believe such an attempt has been made to stop a British citizen from reaching British territory.’

However, according to Foreign Office advice, anyone wishing to travel to the archipelago, home to a joint UK-US military base, requires a permit, with no commercial flights operating to or from the territory.

Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, accused Mr Farage of attempting ‘MAGA stunts’.

He wrote on X: ‘No Mr Farage you cant just turn up at sensitive military bases either in the UK or abroad.

‘No MP can – no matter what Party you represent. We don’t do open days around the trident warhead or open house for the SAS either.’

Sir Ben further hit out at Mr Farage for failing to recruit a defence spokesperson after the Reform leader unveiled a ‘shadow cabinet’ of comprised of senior party figures, including Richard Tice and Conservative defector Robert Jenrick.

It comes days after Donald Trump again turned on the government’s deal to hand over what is formally known as the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) to Mauritius.

The US president had previously suggested the deal was the ‘best’ Sir Keir Starmer could have negotiated.

However Trump changed his mind this again this week, urging the government not to ‘give away Diego Garcia’.

Reports suggested that the president was swayed by the UK’s refusal to allow US forces to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire as a base for a potential military campaign against Iran.

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