Nigel Farage jets off to satisfy Donald Trump and ‘discuss down Britain’ at swanky dinner
Nigel Farage is set to dine with Donald Trump at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort as the crisis in the Middle East escalates – with Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey questioning the Reform chief’s patriotism
Nigel Farage is set to dine with Donald Trump on Friday evening
Nigel Farage has been slammed after revealing he will be jetting off to the US to meet Donald Trump.
The Reform leader and MP for Clacton will dine with the US President in Mar-a-Lago as the crisis in the Middle East escalates. Furious Lib Dem chief Sir Ed Davey accused him of planning to “talk down Britain and suck up to Trump”.
Mr Farage said he plans to bring up the UK’s Chagos Islands agreement with Trump after weeks of flip-flopping from the American leader. In recent days the 79-year-old President has launched a string of stinging attacks on Keir Starmer after he refused to sign up to initial strikes on Iran.
After Mr Farage announced he would again be heading off to the US, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed posted on X: “I see Farage is off to Mar-a-Lago to talk down Britain and suck up to Trump . There’s nothing patriotic about cheering on a foreign leader whose illegal war is sending British families’ energy bills through the roof.”
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Mr Farage’s smoozing with the US leader comes as tensions heighten between the US and UK. Trump has launched a series of verbal attacks after the Prime Minister refused to allow British air bases to be used for attacks on Iran.
The US President has vented his anger, declaring Mr Starmer is “no Winston Churchill” in a bad-tempered Oval Office briefing this week. The UK has since agreed to allow US forces to use British bases to carry out defensive strikes to prevent attacks from Iran.
The Reform leader told a Save Chagos Boat Party on Thursday evening, GB News reports: “We think this is the central plan for this Government’s foreign policy and we are beating them back. President Trump has almost understood the deal, but I will be dining at Mar-a-Lago tomorrow night and we will reinforce the message.”
The unpredictable US President – who has previously backed the PM’s agreement to hand the islands back to Mauritius – has repeatedly U-turned. He launched a scathing attack just hours after the US State Department gave the agreement its thumbs up last month.
Under the deal, the UK is ceding sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius after two centuries under British control, and then entering a 99-year-lease for the largest island, Diego Garcia, which houses a strategic US-UK military base. The agreement to lease back Diego Garcia is expected to cost the UK £101million a year.
Speaking at PMQs on Wednesday, Mr Starmer insisted the special relationship between the two nations is safe. He said: “The American planes are operating out of British bases.
“That is the special relationship in action. British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint bases. That is the special relationship in action.
“Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe. That is the special relationship in action. Hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship.”
