Lord Hannan has urged ministers to seize a second opportunity to reconsider the future of the Chagos Islands after legislation designed to protect British sovereignty and give the Chagossian people a referendum passed its second reading in the House of Lords.
Speaking on Friday, 23 October, during a debate on the British Sovereignty Protection (Chagos Islands) Bill, introduced by DUP peer Lord Weir of Ballyholme, Lord Hannan appealed to the Government to reconsider its controversial agreement with Mauritius.
“It is very rare that we get second chances. Providence has provided us with one here,” he told peers.
Lord Hannan traced the islands’ history, from French settlement in the eighteenth century to their acquisition by Britain during the Napoleonic Wars and their subsequent administration through Mauritius.
He challenged the suggestion that this administrative relationship established an overriding Mauritian claim to the islands, arguing that Britain had maintained sovereignty over the territory for more than two centuries.
The Chagos Archipelago came under British control in 1810 and was formally ceded by France in 1814. Britain separated the islands from Mauritius in 1965, three years before Mauritian independence, creating the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Mauritius has long disputed the legitimacy of that separation, while the International Court of Justice concluded in a 2019 advisory opinion that the decolonisation of Mauritius had not been lawfully completed.
However, Lord Hannan questioned the legal arguments used to justify the Government’s proposed transfer of sovereignty, pointing out that the ICJ opinion was advisory rather than a binding judgment.
He argued that the decision to transfer the islands was ultimately a political choice rather than an unavoidable legal obligation.
Lord Hannan also challenged the financial arrangements under which Britain would transfer sovereignty to Mauritius while paying to retain use of the strategically important joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia for 99 years.
The Labour Government has valued the financial arrangements at approximately £3.4 billion in present-value terms. However, critics have calculated substantially higher figures when considering payments over the full lifetime of the agreement.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance has suggested that the total could reach £47 billion over 99 years, including projected inflation, although this is not directly comparable with the Government’s discounted present-value calculation.
Lord Hannan questioned how such expenditure could be justified at a time when Britain’s public finances and defence budgets were under pressure.
He also raised concerns about the future security of Diego Garcia, the possibility of foreign influence over the islands and the long-term protection of the Chagos marine environment.
The military base is considered one of the most strategically important facilities available to Britain and the United States, supporting operations across the Indian Ocean, Middle East and Indo-Pacific.
Lord Hannan suggested that recent American opposition to the sovereignty agreement offered ministers an opportunity to reconsider the entire arrangement.
He gave his support to Lord Weir’s Bill, which proposes a series of safeguards before any future transfer of sovereignty could proceed.
Under the legislation, any transfer or lease of the islands would require the approval of a lawful British Indian Ocean Territory government, a referendum of the Chagossian people and an Act of Parliament.
The proposals also include provisions relating to financial transparency, the protection of Diego Garcia and environmental conservation.
Importantly, the Bill places the wishes of the Chagossian people at the heart of decisions about their homeland, something campaigners argue has been missing from the Government’s negotiations with Mauritius.
The Chagossians were forcibly removed from the islands by a former Labour Government during the 1960s and 1970s to facilitate the establishment of the military base.
Successive British governments have since acknowledged the injustice of those removals, but the community continues to face profound uncertainty over its future and the prospect of permanent resettlement.
During the debate, several peers questioned why decisions about sovereignty should proceed without a referendum of the people whose homeland is directly affected.
However, responding for the Labour Government, Foreign Office minister Baroness Winterton of Doncaster defended the proposed agreement with Mauritius, insisting that it was necessary to secure the long-term future of Diego Garcia.
She argued that continuing legal challenges to British sovereignty created risks for the operation of the military base and said doing nothing was not a viable option.
The minister also acknowledged the historic injustice suffered by the Chagossians and said the Government continued to engage with representatives of the community.
Nevertheless, she explicitly rejected the Bill’s proposal for a Chagossian referendum.
The Government’s refusal to support a referendum was particularly significant given the central argument advanced by the Bill’s supporters that the islanders themselves should have a decisive say in the future of their homeland.
Despite the Government’s opposition, the Bill completed its second reading without a division and was committed to a Committee of the Whole House for further scrutiny.
Although the legislation has not become law, its progress ensures that proposals to protect British sovereignty and strengthen Chagossian involvement in decisions about the islands will continue to be examined by Parliament.
Great British PAC helps fund next stage of Chagossians’ legal battle
The parliamentary developments come just days before another important stage in the Chagossians’ legal battle, with a fresh Judicial Review permission hearing scheduled for Thursday, 5 November 2026.
The Great British PAC is once again helping to funding the proceedings in addition to the substantial financial and practical assistance it has already provided to Chagossian claimants.
The case, brought by Louis Michel Mandarin and Louis Misley Mandarin against the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, challenges aspects of the Government’s decision-making over the Chagos agreement, including allegations that the Chagossian people were not properly consulted about the future of their homeland.
The original claims were considered at an oral permission hearing in October 2025. Permission to proceed with the Judicial Review was refused by the High Court in March 2026, but the claimants appealed.
Following that appeal, the Court of Appeal ordered a fresh hearing to reconsider the refusal of permission, ensuring that the legal challenge remains alive.
The hearing on 5 November will determine whether the claim can progress towards a full Judicial Review. It will not decide the ultimate question of sovereignty, but a successful outcome would allow the claimants to pursue further judicial scrutiny of the Government’s handling of the agreement.
The Great British PAC has supported the Chagossians throughout their campaign for self-determination, helping to fund legal challenges, providing polling, practical assistance and working with parliamentarians to ensure their concerns are heard.
The organisation has also helped raise awareness of the position of the Chagossians who wish to retain their British nationality, preserve the islands’ British sovereignty and secure the right to return to their ancestral homeland.
The PAC has made clear that the legal proceedings belong to the Chagossian claimants themselves and that its role is to provide the financial support needed to allow their arguments to be presented before an independent court.
The organisation maintains that decisions concerning the future of the Chagos Islands must not be taken without meaningful consultation with the people whose families were forcibly removed from their homeland.
With Lord Weir’s Bill now progressing through Parliament and the Chagossians preparing to return to court on 5 November, the proposed transfer of the islands to Mauritius remains the subject of both parliamentary scrutiny and continuing legal proceedings.
For the Great British PAC and the Chagossians, the next stage of that fight will take place in court on 5 November, as the claimants seek permission to have their challenge fully heard.
