UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago

Lord Weir of Ballyholme Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Weir of Ballyholme (DUP)]

My Lords, I join the joyful congratulations to the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis, on her maiden speech, and perhaps sadder congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Boswell, on his valedictory speech.

Much has been made in this debate of what the previous Government did, and what they might have done had they still been in government. While it was an interesting debating point, it misses the focus of why we are here, which is to determine whether this is a good deal. This is a bad deal for the United Kingdom and an even worse deal for the Chagossian people. We are relinquishing sovereign territory that we have held since 1814—to put that in context, it is prior to Waterloo and to 32 of the 50 states joining the United States—on the basis of an advisory opinion and the fear of what may come over the horizon, despite the fact that even in the International Agreements Committee there was divided opinion on the threat legally to the United Kingdom. To use a boxing analogy, we have thrown in the towel before the bell has even rung for the first round.

Let us be in no doubt that this is a political decision rather than a legal imperative. We have relinquished sovereignty to Mauritius and, as others have indicated, it is “relinquished” rather than “returned”, because Mauritius has never had sovereignty over the Chagos Islands. We have given it to a country which is further away from the Chagos Islands than this Chamber is from Minsk in Belarus, one which is developing closer relations with Russia and has a strong and growing friendship with China. I have no doubt that, despite all the attempts at protections within this treaty, we will see a much greater level of Chinese influence in the Chagos Islands as infrastructure is put in, and as it works with Mauritius.

One of the worst political insults that can be thrown at any Government is, undoubtedly, that they have sold out. To be fair, that is not an accusation that can be levelled at this Government. They have not sold out—they have not even given away the islands: they have paid Mauritius to take them off our hands. Whether or not you take the figure of £3.4 billion, or the cash figure of £13 billion, or the inflation estimate of £30 billion, the reality is the same: we are paying an extraordinary amount simply to hand over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. It is a circumstance in which this Government have finally achieved a tax cut; unfortunately, it is not for the people of the United Kingdom, but for the people of Mauritius.

What is even worse is the position it has left the Chagossians themselves in. If there is perhaps one thing which has united us around this Chamber in this debate, it is an acceptance that historically, from the 1960s onwards, the United Kingdom has treated the Chagossian people very badly, but that is only exacerbated by this deal. I had the opportunity to meet with a delegation of Chagossians, which puts me at least on a par with the Foreign Secretary. I met them before the deal was done, which perhaps puts me in a superior position to the Foreign Secretary. The overwhelming view of Chagossians is undoubtedly sceptical of and hostile to this deal. No doubt the Government will say, as has been quoted in this debate, that not everyone connected with the Chagos Islands has an identical view, and I accept that. However, the voices are overwhelmingly against this deal. There is a very good way, as the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, and others have said, to test Chagossian opinion: to properly give them a level of self-determination and a referendum, giving them a level of choice, rather than simply notifying them afterwards of what the deal is.

A Chagossian said to me, “The UK Parliament is our Parliament”. It is time that, as a Parliament, we stand up for the rights of the Chagossian people that we have for so many years ignored. That is why it is right that we take a stand tonight, and why I will be supporting the proposal of the noble Lord, Lord Callanan.