Why Is the Government Trying to Remove Chagossians While Questions Remain Over an Earlier Chagos Expedition?

The Government is preparing to return to court this month in an attempt to overturn a landmark victory won by six Chagossians who have been living on their homeland in the Chagos Islands.

Yet as ministers seek to remove islanders who have fought for generations to return home, serious questions are now being raised about how British authorities handled a previous high-profile visit to the territory by campaigners supporting the transfer of the islands to Mauritius.

Lawyers acting for Chagossian claimant Misley Mandarin have formally written to Government lawyers demanding answers about a February 2022 visit to the Chagos Islands by Mauritian campaigner Olivier Bancoult and international lawyer Philippe Sands KC.

The questions come ahead of a crucial Court of Appeal hearing scheduled for July 15–17, where the Government will seek to overturn an earlier judgment that allowed the Chagossians to remain on the islands.

For many supporters of the Chagossians, the contrast is impossible to ignore.

While Chagossians who wish to live on their ancestral homeland continue to face legal battles over their presence on the islands, campaigners advocating the transfer of the territory to Mauritius appear to have been able to travel there, conduct political activities and publicise their visit internationally.

In correspondence sent by Keystone Law, lawyers acting for the claimants have asked whether permits were issued for the 2022 visit, whether British authorities were aware of it, how the visit was treated by officials and why details of the trip have never previously been disclosed during ongoing litigation concerning the islands.

The legal team also wants to know whether officials responsible for decisions affecting the Mandarin family were aware of the visit when those decisions were being made.

The questions stem from footage published by The Guardian showing a group travelling to Peros Banhos, one of the islands within the Chagos archipelago.

According to the video, participants erected a flagpole, sang the Mauritian national anthem and openly discussed their desire to see sovereignty transferred from Britain to Mauritius.

In the footage, Olivier Bancoult declares:

“We are not going as visitors, we are going in order to prepare the future.”

Philippe Sands KC, a prominent supporter of Mauritian sovereignty over the islands, describes the removal of the Chagossian people as “a crime against humanity” and argues that preventing their return is contrary to international law.

Lawyers for the claimants argue that the Court of Appeal should have a full understanding of how previous visitors to the islands were treated, particularly if authorities were aware of the visit and chose not to take any enforcement action.

Their concern goes beyond the visit itself.

The Government owes the court what lawyers call a duty of candour, a legal obligation to disclose relevant information fully and honestly. Claimants argue that if ministers were aware of the 2022 expedition and how it was handled, that information may be relevant to ongoing proceedings involving Chagossian rights on the islands.

At the time of publication, the Government had not publicly responded to the questions.

The issue strikes at the heart of the growing controversy surrounding Labour’s handling of the Chagos Islands.

Ministers are currently spending taxpayer money attempting to remove Chagossians from islands their families once called home, while simultaneously pursuing a deal to transfer sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius.

Critics argue that successive governments have repeatedly claimed to act in the interests of Chagossians while excluding many Chagossians from decisions about the future of their homeland. The irony is difficult to miss.

Chagossians who wish to live peacefully on their ancestral homeland continue to face legal challenges backed by the Labour Government. Yet important questions remain unanswered about how authorities treated a filmed political expedition by campaigners advocating the transfer of those same islands to Mauritius.

If permits were required, were they obtained? If they were not, what action was taken? If no action was taken, why not?

And if ministers were aware of the visit, why has the issue never previously been disclosed during years of litigation involving Chagossian rights?

Until the Government provides clear answers, those questions are unlikely to go away.

The latest development comes after a series of significant legal victories secured by the claimants and their legal team. Solicitor James Tumbridge of Keystone Law and leading public law barrister Philip Rule KC have successfully challenged Government decisions affecting Chagossians living on the islands and have consistently argued that Chagossians themselves have been excluded from decisions about the future of their homeland.

The Great British PAC has supported both the litigation and the wider campaign to defend the rights of the Chagossian people. The organisation argues that the case is ultimately about a simple principle: that Chagossians should have the right to determine their own future and should not be excluded from decisions concerning the islands from which their community was removed.

Claire Bullivant, CEO of the Great British PAC, said:

“The fundamental question remains the same. Why is the Labour Government so determined to remove Chagossians from islands their families once called home while refusing to answer legitimate questions about how others were treated when they visited the territory?

For decades, Chagossians have fought to return to their homeland. Now, after finally securing a hard-won victory in court, the Government is once again seeking to remove them.

If ministers are asking the courts to enforce rules against Chagossians, the public has a right to know whether those same rules were applied consistently in other cases. Transparency and equal treatment under the law are not optional; they are fundamental principles of justice.

James Tumbridge and Philip Rule KC have done extraordinary work in defending the rights of the Chagossian people. The Great British PAC will continue to support Misley Mandarin and the other claimants as they fight to ensure that Chagossians are not once again ignored in decisions about their own future.

This case is about more than legal arguments. It is about whether the descendants of the islands’ original inhabitants will finally be heard, or whether their future will continue to be decided without them.”

The Court of Appeal hearing is expected to be one of the most significant stages yet in the continuing battle over the future of the Chagos Islands and the rights of the Chagossian people.

The Court of Appeal hearing is scheduled for July 15–17.