and are among those who have roundly condemned Sir Keir Starmer’s plan to hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius – with the shadow Foreign Secretary claiming the highly controversial deal will cost UK taxpayers “billions”.
And, speaking at an engagement event in Westminster where they met MPs, Chagossians themselves likewise voted their unhappiness at the proposal, emphasising that the remote archipelago has never belonged to Mauritius, while stressing their “Britishness”.
The Chagos Islands are officially known as the British Indian Overseas Territory (BIOT).
The United Kingdom’s proposed agreement with Mauritius is widely understood to include a financial arrangement where Britain would pay £9 billion over a 99-year lease to retain the strategic military base on Diego Garcia. This would equate to an annual payment of approximately £90 million.
The UK expelled roughly 2,000 Chagossians from the islands, mainly to Mauritius and the Seychelles, in the 1960s and 1970s to facilitate a UK-US agreement which allowed the US to build a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain.
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Priti Patel, Sir Keir Starmer and the Chagos Islands (Image: GETTY)
Many Chagossians subsequently moved to the UK, particularly Crawley in West Sussex, after experiencing in Mauritius.
In 2002, the British government granted British citizenship to Chagossians born in the Chagos Islands and their direct descendants – but islanders fear the Government’s deal with Mauritius jeopardises their rights to return there as UK citizens.
Additionally there are concerns that it will make it more difficult for any Chagossians living in this country who are yet to be offered British citizenship to do so.
Speaking at the gathering, hosted by the Friends of the British Overseas Territories (FOTBOT) at the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday, Tory MP for Witham Dame Priti, the former Home Secretary, said: “This Government has lots of questions to answer. They’re being very secretive. They’re not being transparent.
“They’ve not had the proper dialogue and conversation with all of you, that is self-evident.
Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice (Image: Getty)
“They’re asking the British taxpayer to fork out potentially billions.”
Meanwhile Reform UK leader said he was saddened after hearing Chagossians voice their concerns about the proposals. Many, particularly those living in the UK, have already accused the Government of betraying their interests by negotiating to transfer the islands without guaranteeing their right to return.
The MP for Boston and Skegness said: “It’s not often I am moved to tears, but I was this evening when you hear people talk about the sovereignty of their own nation, there is actually nothing more that goes to one’s heart.
“My good friend and many others have been making serious representations to the incoming . I think we can be cautiously optimistic.”
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A Chagos Islands protest outside Parliament last year (Image: Getty)
Philip Smith, CEO of Friends of the British Overseas Territories, said: “The voices of Chagossians must be heard, the government only held two Zoom calls to understand their issues, this is not meaningful engagements.
“Tonight, Parliamentarians from across political parties came together to listen to the heart-breaking stories from different Chagos groups and understand their opposition to the government’s terrible deal with Mauritius.
“This deal does not protect self-determination, international security or provide additional welfare for British Chagossians”.
Peter Lamb, the Tory MP for Crawley, added: “The deportation and attempted cultural genocide of Chagossians is one of the greatest lingering injustices in the world today.
US President Donald Trump has been urged to intervene, said Mr Tice (Image: Getty)
“It is an injustice that these negotiations have continued to perpetrate, denying the very identity of the people that they affect.”
Chagossian speakers included Misley Mandarian, Bernadette Dugasse, Frankie Bontempts and Vanessa Calou from Chagos groups: BIOT Citizen and Chagossian Voices.
Ms Dugasse said: “I am not a Mauritian. I am a Chagossian. We were born under the Union Jack.”
Ms Calou added: “Chagos Islands never belonged to Mauritius. We are not Mauritian. We are British Overseas Territory. We are the people of the King.”
Others making contributions included Former First Minister of Northern Ireland Baroness Foster, Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge, Former Minister for the Overseas Territories Lord Bellingham and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Andrew Rosindell.
Express.co.uk has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.