Diego Garcia and British Indian Ocean Territory

Lord Callanan Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Lords Chamber

We will continue to work with both Mauritius and the United States on the agreement. As the Prime Minister has said, we have very close relations with the United States. That relationship matters profoundly not just to our security but to the prosperity and stability on which people here at home depend”.

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords, I warmly welcome the Statement from the Minister in the other place that this dreadful surrender Bill is being paused pending further discussions with the United States. My amendment of a few weeks ago, which the noble Baroness described at the time as “wrecking”, called for exactly that, so it is great that the Government now seem to be in the same place. Does she agree that, had the Government followed the logical sequence of agreeing their new treaty and then amendments to the 1966 treaty with the US before progressing with this Bill, they would not be in this embarrassing position today?

On the subject of pauses, will the noble Baroness pause the no-fault eviction of the group of Chagossians who have returned to take up residence on one of the outer Chagos Islands? Throughout the passage of the Bill, on many occasions she rightly expressed her sadness and shame at the way that a previous Labour Government had evicted the Chagossians from their homes. We will now see just how sincere she was in those comments by whether this current Labour Government carry out another forceful eviction of British citizens from a British territory. Finally, does she agree that the current international crisis and the possible use of Diego Garcia for military strikes against Iran demonstrates the vital strategic importance of the base and why we should retain it under British sovereignty and UK control?