British sovereign territory must be defended.

That much should be obvious to anyone who wants to be Prime Minister of our country.

Yet, whether it’s Andy Burnham sticking with Keir Starmer’s disastrous surrender of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius , or Nigel Farage saying he’d hand over Chagos to the United States, the other leaders of Britain’s political parties seem intent on giving away strategic British territory.

I’m very clear: politicians should not barter over the fabric of our country. It isn’t for sale, whether it’s for cash or for some vague commitment to be quiet on social media. The Chagos Islands are British. The Falkland Islands are British. There can be no negotiation. Other countries smell the weakness or the carelessness.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s Farage trying to stop Donald Trump talking about the Falklands, or Labour’s long-running mission to hand the islands to Mauritius – and pay £35bn for the privilege.…