Nigel Farage has accused the British Government of blocking his bid to send aid to Chagos Islanders.
The Reform UK leader flew to the Maldives with supplies to help four Chagossians who are attempting to establish a permanent base on a deserted island in the archipelago.
Mr Farage had worked to send a boat carrying vital food and medicines to the island where the men are trying to establish a colony, about 300 miles south of the Maldives.
The boat will not have the Reform UK leader on board, the Telegraph reports, because threats, mechanical issues and an insistence by UK authorities that only trained crew should be on board put him off making the 24-hour voyage.
Mr Farage says his attempt to reach the archipelago has been thwarted
|
TELEGRAPH / GETTY
He will instead make his way back to the UK and the boat will set sail without him.
Mr Farage said he received a call from a senior source inside the Maldives government warning him British authorities wanted to stop him from setting foot on the island, Île du Coin.
“The British Government has made every effort to prevent me heading towards the Chagos Islands”, he told The Telegraph.
“They have asked the Maldives government to stop me from leaving here and setting foot on the boat. This was information conveyed to me by a senior figure in the Maldives government.
“I cannot believe such an attempt has been made to stop a British citizen from reaching British territory. My source told me the British were ‘very concerned’ about me and wanted to know why I was here.
“This trip is a humanitarian mission and I don’t want my presence to jeopardise that.”
MORE TO FOLLOW
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
