The Chagos deal is set to return to the House of Lords after recess. But a group of islanders are determined to do all they can to avert the handover, by protesting right up until the point of surrender. On Monday, a four-man landing party landed on the archipelago to establish a permanent settlement, more than 50 years after the population was evicted from the British colony. Talk about stop the boats…
They were led by Misley Mandarin, First Minister of what was – until then– the Chagossian government in exile. Standing on the beach and looking back out at the Indian Ocean, he declared that hundreds more Chagossians would soon follow. ‘Time is critical for us,’ he said, arguing that the 322 people who were born on the island and who are still living today ought to be allowed to come home before they die. So much for self-determination, eh Sir Keir?
First Minister Mandarin said he wanted to make it impossible for the British government to implement its plan to hand the territory to Mauritius, declaring ‘We are British Chagossians, we are from this island and we are here to stay.’ Accompanying the islanders was Adam Holloway, the former Tory MP turned Reform defector, who helped the Chagossians raise funds for their new settlement, and who devised the plan for their return and the permanent settlement.
He said he hoped that the return of the Chagossians would give the Starmer government pause:
We’ve done this because Britain is about to make a catastrophically stupid mistake. We are now in a world of great power play. The base at Diego Garcia is absolutely critical to the security of the West.
Over to you, HMG….
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