Nigel Farage erupts over UK military base as he asks 'is it worth paper it's written on?'

erupted in the as he raised questions over the validity of the UK's agreement regarding the Diego Garcia military base.

The furious rant came following reports that the British High Commission in was bugged.

During Foreign Office questions in the Commons on Tuesday (October 22) Farage said: "Since the mistaken opening of negotiations by the last government on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, it turns out the British High Commission and others appear to have been bugged by the government of Mauritius."

Farage added: "If the police investigation into this proves to be true, we can see that Mauritius, their government at least, are bad actors.

"In light of that, is the 99-year-old lease that you've got on Diego Garcia even worth the paper that it's written on?"

His comments follow decision to relinquish sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a move that has sparked debate about security in the region.

The Chagos Islands have been under British control for more than 200 years, but the islands' inhabitants were expelled in the late 1960s to accommodate the Diego Garcia military base, which is shared with the .

However, Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty responded to Farage's concerns, saying that the reports of bugging were being taken seriously.

He added: "Of course, we note the reports with significant concern, but the honourable gentlemen would understand that I am not going to comment on an ongoing police investigation."

Doughty also reassured MPs that the current negotiations are not connected to the historical conversations that are under investigation.

He also defended the treaty negotiated with Mauritius, saying: "We are absolutely confident that we have achieved a treaty that meets both our national security objectives, closes off a migration route, but also fundamentally respects the interests of Chagossian people."

The debate also touched on concerns about Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific, with MP Gregory Stafford asking whether the ceding of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius could allow to extend its reach in the region.

Doughty firmly rejected these claims, responding: "There is absolutely no way that we would have signed off a treaty - nor indeed the United States - that compromised any of our security interests or those of our allies."