Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill

Lord Callanan Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the Government and the Chief Whip in particular for the constructive discussions we have had since Second Reading. As the House will be aware, we took the unusual step of tabling an amendment to the committal Motion last week which would have required a government consultation of the Chagossian community before the beginning of Committee. Surprisingly, the Government then withdrew their committal Motion.

I am pleased that, following discussions in the usual channels over the past week, the Government have confirmed that Report will now not commence before the new year, allowing more time for proper scrutiny of this important Bill. This will allow the views of the Chagossian community to be taken into account as part of our scrutiny of the Bill on Report. It is very welcome news that the Government have committed to publishing further details of the Chagossian contact group and on the trust fund for the Chagossians.