The cost of the Chagos Islands deal is equivalent to more than a decade of winter fuel payment savings, according to new analysis. The research found that the upper estimate of £18 billion matches the money the Labour Government expects to save from scrapping the cold weather allowance for most OAPs for 12 years.

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.

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.

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.

Britain struck a deal in October to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius - a former colony that became independent in 1968 - while retaining control under a 99-year

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".