Farage's Chagos Mission: UK Reform Flies to Maldives, Boat to Île du Coin (Kandhoo) Sets Sail Without the Leader

Nigel Farage the leader of Reform UK and has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton

Nigel Farage, the charismatic and controversial leader of Reform UK, has long positioned himself as a staunch defender of British sovereignty, national interests, and the rights of ordinary citizens against what he perceives as elite overreach. In February 2026, he undertook a high-profile and dramatic journey to the Maldives, ostensibly to deliver humanitarian aid to four Chagossians attempting to establish a permanent settlement on Île du Coin (Coin Island), locally known as Kandhoo Island in the modern-day Peros Banhos atoll in the remote Chagos Archipelago. This action thrust Farage into the center of one of the most contentious geopolitical issues facing the United Kingdom: the planned transfer of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

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Nigel Farage MP Leader of Reform UK. MP for Clacton in the Maldives to  deliver humanitarian aid to four Chagossians 

The Chagos Archipelago, locally known as Foalhavahi, consists of over 60 islands scattered across the Indian Ocean, approximately 300 miles south of the Maldives. The islands remain British territory, but a 2025 agreement between the UK government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritius commits Britain to cede sovereignty while retaining a 99-year lease (with extension options) on Diego Garcia, the largest island, which hosts a strategically vital joint UK-US military base. This deal, aimed at resolving long-standing disputes and securing the base's future amid international legal challenges, has drawn fierce criticism from conservatives, including Farage, who has labeled it one of the "worst deals in British history" and an act of national betrayal that could undermine alliances and security.

Holhimadulu Atoll / Peros Banhos is one of the nearest Chagos atolls to Addu City.

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has advised both the United Kingdom and Mauritius against ratifying the agreement, warning that it may perpetuate historical rights violations. Both the Maldivian and Chagossian communities oppose the agreement, viewing it as a transfer of their homeland to Mauritius, a country they allege has previously neglected them, without securing their right to self-determination or full rights of return. The landing on Île du Coin seems to be an attempt to complicate or hinder this transfer by establishing a presence on the ground and directly asserting Chagossian claims.

In a recent interview, Robert Midgley, former No.10 Downing Street, FCDO Communications Adviser, Army Reservist, Journalist, and spokesperson for the Friends of British Overseas Territories, confirmed that Maldivians are living within the Chagossian community in the Chagos Archipelago.

In the 16th century, during the Portuguese occupation, the Maldivian King Dom Manuel, formerly known as Sultan Hassan IX, who was married to a Portuguese noblewoman, governed the Chagos area. He relocated several Maldivians from the southern atoll of Addu Huvadhoo to the Chagos region to work on coconut plantations. Dom Manuel continued to practice Catholicism and spent the remainder of his life in Goa. The name "Chagos" has Portuguese origins, although it was originally known as Fehendheeb. Furthermore, what is now referred to as Diego Garcia Island was labeled with the Maldivian name "Foalhavahi" on historical Portuguese maps.