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Minister: Chagos deal to go ahead despite protests

Jonny HarveyPolitics London reporter
News imageBBC A group of people protest in central London. Some are holding the flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory. BBC
Chagossians protested outside Parliament about the deal with Mauritius

There will be no change in policy over the UK's decision to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a government minister has said.

Seema Malhotra, a Foreign Office minister, told the Politics London programme that the deal was "about securing our future" and the UK's allies had approved the agreement.

In May 2025 the British government agreed to give sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base on the island of Diego Garcia for £101m a year.

London-based Chagossians have protested against the plan, saying they are being shut out of decisions about the future of their homeland.

News imageA woman stands in front a British Overseas Territory flag in Parliament Square. she has dark hair and is wearing a light coloured winter coat.
Vanessa Mandarin said Chagossians wanted self-determination

The Chagos Islands are a group of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean that make up the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

Misley Mandarin, a BIOT citizen, told Politics London: "It seemed like the Labour government (want to) steam ahead with the treaty without considering the most important key component of that deal, which is the Chagossians.

"And this makes us very angry. I'd rather die for my country than my country go to Mauritius.

"This is the type of angriness in me right now, and it's shared with all the Chagossians right now."

The UK bought the Chagos Islands for £3m in 1968 and forced the removal of Chagossians from the archipelago over the next five years to make way for a UK-US armed forces base.

Many of them moved to Mauritius, the Seychelles and the UK.

Vanessa Mandarin, also a BIOT citizen, told the programme: "We want the self-determination to dedicate the future of our homeland, what we want to do with our homeland.

"And we want the Chagossians to be first.

"We don't want another state to come and talk on our behalf. We will be challenging, we will not surrender. We will be challenging until the end."

News imageSeema Malhotra in a red suit jacket and white top speaks to Andrew Rosindell who is in a dark blue suit, white shirt and dark blue tie. They are on a TV set.
Seema Malhotra and Andrew Rosindell discussed the Chagos deal on Politics London

Malhotra, who is Labour MP for Feltham and Heston, said most of the negotiations between the UK and Mauritius took place under the previous Conservative government.

She said there were "different views among the Chagossian community" and the deal was "about making sure we can secure the Diego Garcia base for our security".

Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, told Politics London the deal was "absolutely outrageous".

He added: "We had former colonies - every single one of them had the right to self-determination.

"We are denying these good people the right to decide their own destiny. This goes against every human right imaginable.

"Not only did we take them away from their homeland, forced them away from their ancestral homes, now we are saying we are going to give away their country to a foreign land."

Under the agreement Mauritius will gain sovereignty of the islands from the UK, but allow the US and UK to continue operating a military base on one of the islands, Diego Garcia, for an initial period of 99 years.

Watch the latest edition of BBC Politics London on BBC One at 10:30 on Sunday or on BBC iPlayer

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