Zia Yusuf has heaped praise on Nigel Farage after the Reform UK leader was credited for Donald Trump’s extraordinary intervention in Labour’s Chagos deal.

This week, Mr Farage attended the congregation of world leaders in Davos, where he is believed to have dined with the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Earlier in the week, the top Whitehall official declared the UK was letting down the US with its agreement to hand over British territory to Mauritius, a Chinese ally.

Mr Bessent’s remark came after the President’s extraordinary outburst on Tuesday morning, calling the Chagos deal “an act of great stupidity”.

The surprising criticism came after Mr Farage raised his concerns with Trump ally and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on GB News, who is understood to have raised the matter with the President directly later that evening.

Now, after Mr Trump’s rebuke, Sir Keir Starmer has pulled the Chagos Island Bill from its scheduled debate in the Lords this coming Monday.

Speaking on GB News this afternoon, Mr Yusuf lauded his boss, saying: “I don’t know if it’s really sunk in for everybody.

“Nigel Farage has just managed one of the most extraordinary diplomatic interventions for somebody who isn’t actually in the Government in my lifetime.

“He has managed to stop this awful bill from going through as a result of his dinner with Scott Bessent.

“He’s managed to stop it. He’s managed to stop the ceding of British sovereign territory for no valid reason whatsoever.

“And then, of course, paying billions of pounds to get it back. There are huge security issues, not just for Britain, but obviously for America.”

Mr Yusuf further emphasised the critical nature of the military base on Diego Garcia, home to long-range missiles and fleets of submarines.

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“And obviously Mauritius has very deep and close ties with China. We know there’s lots of issues there with Labour already.

“So I think it’s really important people take a pause for a moment and just really give Nigel the credit he deserves.

“As I said, I think it’s the most extraordinary diplomatic intervention on behalf of the interests of the British people from someone who isn’t actually in Government.

“So imagine what he will be able to do, not just when he’s in Government, but when he’s the Prime Minister of this country,” Mr Yusuf cheekily added.

Nevertheless, the policy chief expressed some caution, branding Sir Keir as a “traitor”.

“We know Keir Starmer is desperate, as are many people inside the Labour Party to cede that sovereign territory,” Mr Yusuf started.

“There is no logical reason at all for a country like Britain to be ceding that sovereign territory and then leasing it back, especially when you have these huge security concerns in China looming in the background.

“So we cannot be complacent. But it is a great day and we should take a moment to give Nigel credit for that. But we can’t be complacent. We’ve got to continue to fight this.”

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