Sir Geoffrey Cox, MP for Torridge and Tavistock and a senior barrister, has attracted renewed attention over paid legal work connected to Mauritian government bodies during a period of sensitive negotiations between the UK and Mauritius over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
Official records in Parliament’s Register of Members’ Financial Interests show that Cox has declared payments for legal services provided to Mauritian public offices and associated law firms while serving as a sitting MP.
According to the register, Cox disclosed a number of payments from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mauritius, including:
• £63,000 received in October 2024 for work carried out between July and September 2024
• £12,203 received in March 2025 for further advisory work
Additional entries list remuneration from other Mauritian sources, including consultancy work for Dentons Mauritius LLP and legal services provided to the Prime Minister’s Office, Republic of Mauritius, recorded across several months.
Taken together, the disclosures confirm that Cox undertook repeated paid engagements linked to Mauritian state bodies and law firms while continuing his parliamentary duties.
Media Reports Place Work in the Same Period as Chagos Talks
Several British newspapers have reported that Cox’s paid engagements occurred in the months leading up to the UK–Mauritius agreement on the future of the Chagos Islands, including arrangements concerning the strategically important Diego Garcia.
Those reports have drawn attention to the timing of the contracts and to advisory roles played by legal figures connected to Cox’s professional practice. The reporting has also recorded Cox’s insistence that his personal legal work was unrelated to the Chagos negotiations.
Cox has publicly rejected claims that his Mauritian legal work concerned the Chagos dispute.
He has said that he was not instructed to advise Mauritius on any matter relating to the islands, that all Mauritius related work had been fully declared in the parliamentary register, and that the registered engagements had nothing to do with sovereignty negotiations.
However, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was quick to criticise the KC writing on X: “The Conservatives claim they have been trying to stop the Chagos deal… Now we learn Tory MP Geoffrey Cox has been advising the Mauritian government!”
Cox responded: “A grubby little insinuation. Farage has no evidence I advise Mauritius on the Chagos Islands because I am not. And I voted against the Chagos deal. What a pity a man who could offer real leadership should vomit up the same stale brew of lies people are sick of.”
Campaign Reaction
However, Claire Bullivant, CEO of Great British PAC, which is campaigning against Starmer’s Chagos deal, said:
“I think it’s only right that we know exactly what Sir Geoffrey Cox is being paid for in Mauritius. We can see the transactions. What are they for? Transparency matters, especially when British taxpayers could potentially face costs running into tens of billions of pounds for what we view as a dreadful surrender.
“MPs are allowed to work outside their constituencies, of course they are. That is not the issue. But if any parliamentarian were shown to be acting against the interests of the British people for personal gain, that would be completely unacceptable.
“An MP’s first and foremost duty should always be to protect Britain, its citizens, and the national interest. This deal is deeply flawed. We believe it raises serious concerns about fairness, democratic accountability, racism, environmental impact and national security, and could end up costing British taxpayers billions if ratified. It needs to be stopped.
“If evidence were to emerge that any politician or peer had personally profited from decisions connected to it, the country would be entitled to demand the strongest possible scrutiny and investigation.”
Ramgoolam’s Role in the Chagos Process
Mauritius is currently led by Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who has served in office on three previous occasions, from 1995 to 2000, from 2005 to 2014, and again since late 2024 following a general election victory.
Ramgoolam was in office when the UK and Mauritius finalised the agreement on the Chagos Islands in 2025 and personally signed the treaty with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Since returning to power, Ramgoolam’s administration has ordered reviews of aspects of the deal and has sought changes to provisions concerning the long term lease of Diego Garcia and compensation arrangements, placing him at the centre of Mauritius’s continuing engagement with the settlement.
British press reports have also noted that Ramgoolam undertook legal training in the United Kingdom earlier in his career and that Cox acted as a professional mentor during that period. Cox has not suggested that the historical connection has any bearing on his current work.
Questions Raised by Critics
The disclosures have prompted political debate about the appropriateness of MPs undertaking paid legal work for foreign governments while holding elected office.
Critics argue that although such work is permitted under parliamentary rules when declared, it can raise political sensitivities when the foreign state involved is engaged in negotiations with the UK.
Questions have been raised in the media about whether Global Counsel, the consultancy founded by Peter Mandelson, has had any involvement in discussions connected to the future of the Chagos Islands.
Lord Mandelson stepped back from the firm’s day-to-day management after being appointed US ambassador by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, though publicly available corporate records show that he retained a shareholding in the company he founded. Media outlets have also reported that a senior partner at Global Counsel resigned last week.
Some commentators have questioned why sitting members of Parliament and the Lords should work for another country unless that work is clearly aligned with British interests.
Campaigners opposed to transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands have pointed to polling and advocacy material suggesting that British born Chagossians overwhelmingly wish to remain British, figures frequently cited by activists put support at more than 99 percent.
Those critics contend that, against that backdrop, paid advisory roles connected to Mauritius risk appearing inconsistent with the wishes of Chagossians who are British citizens and with the responsibilities of a parliamentarian whose salary is funded from public money.
What the Public Record Shows
Although public disclosures confirm that Cox received payments for legal services from Mauritian state bodies and related firms, the MP continues to deny that his personal legal advice concerned the Chagos Islands dispute.
However, critics are calling for transparency over contacts and payments, and for clarity on whether any external commercial interests intersected with the negotiations.
Image: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
