Britain will NOT hand over Gibraltar or the Falklands vows minister as he claims Chagos surrender is 'win-win'

The move has prompted furious finger-pointing, with Tory leadership contenders looking to heap the blame on James Cleverly, who started talks with Mauritius in the first place, and at David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary who eventually saw the deal through.

It has also sent fears spiralling over the future of fellow BOTs, with ex-Tory MP and deputy chairman Brendan Clarke-Smith writing online: "Beijing will be delighted. Next it will be Gibraltar or the Falklands."

But Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has counselled calm, denying there were plans in place to give up the pair.

Speaking to Sky News, Kyle called the Chagos giveaway a "win-win" - which immediately prompted consternation from shadow cabinet member Andrew Mitchell.

Kyle added: "The previous Government clearly couldn't get it across the line in the interest of the country - and of the region!

"This is a good deal. The entire text has not been published yet, and I urge people to wait for that text, because the text protects Britain's right to have a military base there. It has been endorsed by America."

But Mitchell, the shadow foreign secretary, insisted no Tory Government would ever have struck a deal with Mauritius on the islands.

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Voicing long-held fears over what China will make of the handover, Mitchell demanded to know "what protection there is against Chinese encroachment into the archipelago".

Despite Kyle's defence of the American sign-off on the surrender, Mitchell's comments echoed Republican concerns on the other side of the Atlantic.

Idaho Senator James Risch, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Trump ally, said the move "gives in to Chinese lawfare and yields to pressure from unaccountable international institutions like the International Court of Justice at the expense of US and UK strategic and military interests."

He warned: "The US and our allies must take a long term approach when it comes to making decisions that affect our strategic competition with China, or we will all lose."

Britain will cede sovereignty over Diego Garcia, which plays host to a joint UK-US military base, but it will retain the facility on a 99-year lease, as it did with Hong Kong - which has since seen its population's civil liberties eroded at the hands of the Chinese government.

Texas Representative Michael McCaul, who chairs the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Diego Garcia base was "essential" to countering China and co-ordinating Western allies in the east, saying: "The administration must ensure that US security interests in the Indo-Pacific are protected by this agreement."

While Florida Senator Marco Rubio branded the UK's deal "concerning, as it would provide an opportunity for communist China to gain valuable intelligence on our naval support facility in Mauritius".

Rubio added: "This poses a serious threat to our national security interests in the Indian Ocean and threatens critical US military posture in the region."