Nigel Farage mocked "panicking" Labour MPs as he demanded that Sir Keir Starmer explain why pensioners are losing winter fuel payments while the UK hands £18billion to a foreign country.

The Reform UK leader faced a barrage of heckling from Labour MPs while raising the matter at Prime Minister's Questions, but hit back by saying: "They really are panicking."

He also highlighted the impact of the Government's decision to means-test winter fuel payments of a war-hero constituent.

Mr Farage asked: "What do I say to 25,000 constituents in Clacton?" before highlighting the case of a 99-year-old man who flew "a full set of missions" as a Lancaster bomber pilot.

He added that pensioners "are losing their winter fuel allowance, feeling the pinch at the same time as we are giving away a military base".

Sir Keir said Mr Farage should tell his constituents to "vote Labour" - but did not defend the winter fuel cut.

The Prime Minister is pressing ahead with handing over the Chagos Islands but has denied claims he is doubling the £9billion offered to new owner Mauritius.

The Indian Ocean islands are home to a strategically vital UK-US military base. Plans to hand them to Mauritius have been delayed since the US raised concerns.

Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam said Sir Keir told him that "he intends to push ahead with the agreement reached between Mauritius and the United Kingdom" and expects a "speedy resolution" within weeks.

The UK is said to have offered £9billion to lease back the military base. Still, Mr Ramgoolam has suggested the figure was effectively doubled because the Labour Government offered to increase it with inflation each year.

The Government has denied the claim - but failed to reveal what it believes is the true figure.

Earlier, Sir Keir claimed national security could be put at risk without a deal to give "legal certainty" over the status of the Chagos Islands and the strategically important Diego Garcia military base.

The Government argues that international legal rulings on sovereignty over the archipelago mean the UK has to cede the islands to Mauritius.

"Without legal certainty, the base cannot operate in practical terms as it should," he told MPs. "That is bad for our national security, and it's a gift for our adversaries."