A British minister denied on Wednesday media reports that the government could end up paying billions of pounds more to Mauritius under a renegotiated deal to retain a U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

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 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".

Britain and Mauritius denied on Wednesday media reports that London could end up paying double the amount in a renegotiated deal to retain a U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

What a fool I was. In 2020, my wife, our son and I endured a miserable, lonely Christmas, because we were dutifully following the lockdown rules.