Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking a public consultation with the Chagossian community prior to the (a) announcement of the agreement with Mauritius over the future sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory and (b) signing of the UK-Mauritius Treaty on 22 May 2025.

The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia. The UK Government regularly engages Chagossian groups and representatives at both official and Ministerial levels on a range of issues and will continue to do so.