A fresh and increasingly heated row has erupted over the future of the Chagos Archipelago after the Attorney General of Mauritius, Gavin Glover, warned that Britons who recently landed on one of the islands could face prosecution — despite conceding his government does not yet exercise control there.
A group of Chagossians arrived on the archipelago on Monday, 16 February, declaring the start of what they describe as a “permanent return”, more than fifty years after the population was removed by British colonial authorities. The move has intensified an already sensitive diplomatic process concerning sovereignty over the territory.
Mr Glover said he had received information suggesting that “Britons, including Misley Mandarin, apparently landed illegally on one of the Chagos islands, by their own admission”. He further alleged that those involved were supported by the Great British PAC and warned they would have to answer for their actions.
Yet in the same breath, Mr Glover acknowledged that Mauritius does not yet exercise effective control over the archipelago, pending ratification of a sovereignty treaty. “For the moment, it is Great Britain and the United States that will likely take the necessary measures,” he said, referring to the present administrative arrangements involving the United Kingdom and the United States.
Critics say the contradiction is stark — and troubling. For a serving Attorney General, whose office carries a duty to uphold prosecutorial independence and constitutional propriety, to publicly float prosecutions in territory he admits is not under his jurisdiction has been described by opponents as both irregular and politically charged.
Mr Glover dismissed the Chagossian landing as a “publicity stunt”, suggesting it was designed to provoke confrontation ahead of possible renewed debate in the House of Lords.
In response, Claire Bullivant, Chief Executive of the Great British PAC, delivered a forceful rebuke, accusing the Mauritian Attorney General of undermining his own position and sending a worrying signal about future governance.
“If Mauritian Attorney General Gavin Glover is already announcing prosecutions, he’s just made the strongest argument against handing the islands over,” she said.
“He says Mauritius doesn’t exercise control — and in the same breath threatens to punish British citizens. That’s not jurisdiction. That’s political theatre.
“These are British islands. British territory. Governed by British law.
“It is not the business of the Mauritian Attorney General to declare criminality on soil he admits he does not control.
“If this is the tone before any transfer of sovereignty, the British public should be asking very serious questions about what happens after.
“We will not accept intimidation dressed up as diplomacy.”
Supporters of the returning islanders say Gavin Glowver’s remarks are more than rhetorical — they are “dangerously hypocritical” and a “warning”. If prosecution is being discussed before Mauritius has formal authority, they argue, it raises unsettling questions about how Chagossians themselves might be treated in the event of a transfer.
Agreeing with Ms Bullivant, Misley Mandarin, the Chagossian First Minister, said the Attorney General’s remarks had only deepened concerns among islanders.
“If the Mauritian Attorney General is already talking about prosecutions before Mauritius even has control, that tells us everything we need to know.
“We are Chagossians. We were removed once before. When we hear threats of legal action simply for setting foot on our homeland, it is impossible not to worry about what would happen under Mauritian authority.
“This isn’t about politics for us — it’s about whether we would truly be free to live on our own land.
“Trust is earned through actions, not warnings. And right now, the tone coming from Port Louis does not inspire confidence among our people.”
Former Conservative MP Ranil Jayawardena addressed the issue on GB News last night, where he was asked whether the group now on the island would be forcibly removed.
“The idea that Keir Starmer is going to order marines to evict Chaggosians from their own lands is for the birds!” he said, dismissing suggestions that the Prime Minister would sanction such action.
His remarks shift the focus onto the moral optics of enforcement, as well as the political consequences of any attempt to remove islanders who argue they are simply returning home.
The forced removal of the Chagossian people between 1968 and 1973 by a former Labour government remains one of the most contentious chapters in Britain’s post-war history.
With Prime Minister Keir Starmer expected to bring forward legislation in the Lords next week to facilitate the handover, the escalating rhetoric has heightened scrutiny in Westminster. For critics, the Mauritian Attorney General’s intervention is not merely a diplomatic misstep, but a stark illustration of the tensions — and potential risks — surrounding any future change in sovereignty.
