Amid criticism over the Chagos Islands deal, the British government has said that the deal is required to secure access to military satellites that are essential for operations at the Diego Garcia mil

The Tory leader says Labour's negotiations could cost the UK billions; the prime minister questions whether Badenoch has been "properly briefed" on UK security.

Britain's government insisted Thursday that it must hand back the Chagos Islands to Mauritius to secure continued access to satellite communications at a key US-UK military base.

A satellite communications system used by the US and UK to run military operations is central to efforts by Britain to resolve the sovereignty of the Chagos islands, UK security officials familiar with the matter said.

Sir Keir Starmer has come under fire at PMQs over the cost of the government's deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Earlier, the UK said newspaper reports that the effective price tag has jumped from £9bn to £18bn were "entirely inaccurate".

If Britain wants to remain a reliable partner in our security alliance, it must be willing to defend its sovereignty. As much as President Trump uses unpredictability as a diplomatic tool, I can predict one thing for sure: there is no way he will allow Britain to give up its sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

Sir Keir Starmer clashed with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over the deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The UK government has denied claims made by the prime minister of Mauritius that it faces paying billions more under a renegotiated deal over the future of the Chagos Islands. Last October, the UK announced it would hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius but would maintain a 99-year lease over the UK-US military airbase on the largest island,

The British government was grilled in parliament on Wednesday as it denied claims by Mauritius that a new deal to return the Chagos Islands changes the lease terms for a key US military base. In creating the base,