UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Boateng, and to agree with pretty well everything he said, particularly his last comments about Britain’s historical record and what a stain this is on it. I was astonished that the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, spoke about Diego Garcia being under British control for two centuries as though that fact should be a reason to continue to hold the last British colony in Africa. The island slipped more or less accidentally—the duress that the noble Lord, Lord Boateng, referred to was worldwide—into British hands under the Treaty of Paris of 1814, remaining so after the great-great-great-grandfather of the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington, won the Battle of Waterloo. As a continuous length of historical accident, it takes some beating.

There is no reason for Britain to continue to hold land some 9,400 km, as the albatross flies, from London. The age of colonialism is, or at least should be, long over. If Britain is to find a respected place in a newly multilateral world and show respect for the rule of law and the principles of human rights, abandoning claims to sovereignty is a step in the right direction.

I am going to focus on two points. Echoing the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, about the brutal and cruel removal of the people of the Chagos Islands and their continuing betrayal by Britain, I stress to the noble Lord, Lord Purvis of Tweed, as I offer Green support for his Motion, that there is no amnesia epidemic on this seat to his right. I am proud that the Green Party has a long tradition of standing up for the Chagossians. A quick search on the internet finds many examples, but I will note just one: Caroline Lucas, formerly my honourable friend in the other place, in 2017 backed an Early Day Motion which demanded

“that the Government fulfil its humanitarian and human rights obligations and allow the Chagossians to return home”.

This demand needs to be continued.

My second focus is environmental. As the noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, said in his comprehensive speech, and as the excellent committee report references, citing an expert academic voice, this is one of the most important reef environments on the planet. We as a human species have done terrible damage to the oceans and seas that cover 72% of the surface. As we discussed in the Oral Question earlier today, with the threat of illegal US deep-sea mining looming, we could be doing even more indefensible damage to essential ecosystems on which our life depends, but of which we know little.

One of the things worth saying about this huge area of relatively untouched environment is that it is not just important in its own right but is one of the last places where researchers can study a coral reef system unbroken by human hands. It provides the benchmark, so that when we look at other, damaged places, we can say that that is what it should look like. We cannot afford to lose that. We know that Mauritius has promised to maintain environmental protections—

[A noble Lord]

No it has not.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

Well, it has given verbal pledges, but verbal pledges do not stop illegal fishing fleets. They do not override economic pressures that might come in future. This is one of the world’s largest marine zones, twice the size of the UK; we need to stress that point. It is also worth noting that even under UK jurisdiction and with all the existing and potential force associated with Diego Garcia, enforcement has not been foolproof. Trawlers have been caught operating illegally in Chagos waters and have often evaded prosecution.

I now come to two direct questions to the Minister. The US military base is a threat in terms of oil spillages, other environmental contamination and the sheer impact of human existence there. Can the Minister comment in any way on how the Government are going to ensure that the continuing base and our continuing place there is not going to do damage? My final question to the Minister is on media access to Diego Garcia. Last year, the BBC’s Alice Cuddy noted in a report of her visit that to enter the island you need a permit granted only to people with connections to the military facility or the British authority that runs the territory. Journalists have historically been barred. The BBC had to push extremely hard to get into Diego Garcia for one special case. What is the intended future policy of openness and transparency?