In a dramatic turn of events, an emergency hearing is underway tonight in the High Court of Justice over an urgent legal bid to halt the UK government’s proposed treaty with Mauritius concerning the Chagos Islands.
The 24/7 duty judge has agreed to hear the case on extremely short notice, after receiving the legal claim “out of hours.” The hearing comes just hours before the treaty is scheduled to be signed on Thursday.
The urgent legal application for interim relief has been filed by Bertrice Pompe, a Chagossian woman who is making a last-ditch effort to block what she and many others in the Chagossian community see as a betrayal of their fundamental rights.
If the court rules in Ms Pompe’s favour, the resulting injunction would be a significant political setback for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The government, which has presented itself as a champion of social justice, is now facing fierce criticism for what has been described as its disregard for the human rights of the Chagossian people.
“The government is acting with the ‘same callous disregard to the interest of the Chagossian people’ as when it expelled them from their homes sixty years ago,” the legal claim states.
Chagossians, who were exiled from their homeland by the UK in the 1960s and 70s, remain fearful of Mauritian sovereignty, citing decades of mistreatment. The claim highlights that many Chagossians living in Mauritius have recently fled, with some ending up homeless in the UK.
The threat of losing her homeland forever compelled Ms Pompe to bring this urgent challenge. A British national, Ms Pompe was born on Diego Garcia and expelled at just six months old. Raised in the Seychelles, she now lives in London and, like many other Chagossians, would be left with no benefit or recourse under Mauritian rule.
“The vast majority of Chagossians want to decide their own future, not have it decided for them,” said a spokesperson for Ms Pompe.
The legal action argues that the treaty’s signing would represent a grave breach of the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act. It asserts that the government has failed in its legal duties to consult properly, act fairly, and consider the profound consequences for the Chagossian people. Crucially, it also references admissions made by David Lammy in earlier legal correspondence, in which he stated he is “binding his own hands” and has refused to negotiate in the interests of Chagossians.
The case is being led by two prominent human rights barristers: Philip Rule KC, one of the UK’s leading public law experts, and Michael Polak, who recently secured a landmark victory at the European Court of Human Rights protecting women from sexual violence.
“This case is the last hope to stop the deal,” said a legal representative. “It is a valiant attempt to fight, like David versus Goliath, against a domineering government intent on doing the wrong thing to a defenceless people.”
The High Court’s decision is expected imminently, as the UK government moves forward with plans that could determine the future of the Chagossian people for generations to come.
