UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago

Baroness Ludford Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ludford (LD)]

My Lords, I was pleased to take part earlier in a historic parliamentary and Boswell/Prentis family event. I warmly congratulate the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis of Banbury, on her maiden speech, and I sadly say au revoir, but not adieu, to her noble kinsman, the noble Lord, Lord Boswell of Aynho, who was indeed a splendid chairman of the European Union Committee.

My perspective on Chagos is shaped by my membership of the Chagos all-party parliamentary group, founded nearly 20 years ago. I believe that His Majesty’s Opposition is being utterly disingenuous and dishonest in condemning this treaty. We know that negotiations began in autumn 2022 under the auspices of Prime Minister Liz Truss and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. They continued for nearly two years under the Conservative Government of Rishi Sunak and were almost complete when Labour came to power. So how on earth can the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, claim that the treaty is a “strategic capitulation” and “surrender”? He says that Ministers must take responsibility for their choices—well, I think the Opposition must, too. It is pretty off-putting to see the Tories now adopting opposition to the treaty as a cause célèbre and deploying a range of false arguments.

I believe that the International Agreements Committee, in its balanced and sensible report, is correct in its conclusions, including that the future of the base on Diego Garcia would be at greater risk in the likely event of a future legal judgment in favour of Mauritius. I will say a word on that base: I would want to be assured that the UK would not permit the United States to breach international law there, as the UK Government did in colluding in the use of Diego Garcia for extraordinary rendition after 9/11. I am sorry that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, is not now in his place, because he and I corresponded on this matter when I was an MEP in 2006.

The committee heard from Sir Christopher Greenwood, former judge of the International Court of Justice. He told the committee:

“Following that opinion from the international court and the vote in the General Assembly on the resolution, I think that it would be in Britain’s interests to ratify this treaty. The consequences of not ratifying it are that, first of all, it completely undermines our position that we are a state that wishes to promote the rule of law in international affairs … Secondly, the risks of it being tested out in some other context are very troubling indeed and could lead to a result far less attractive than the one we have from this treaty. I would be in favour of the agreement”.


He recognised that the ICJ opinion was advisory and not binding, but that it is

“a very authoritative guide to the legal position. In reality, it would be very difficult for any state just to ignore an almost unanimous opinion of the international court”.

I think we all agree that what a Labour Government did 60 years ago in displacing the Chagossians was disgraceful, and there has been a tangled web of deception ever since, under Governments of all parties. The Chagossians have been treated with shameful contempt and disdain. However, views among Chagossians now on the new treaty are far from unanimous. The majority support it, especially the Chagos Refugees Group, the largest single group, led by Olivier Bancoult, who I listened to about six weeks ago. It believes that the treaty is the only way Chagossians will be able to return for visits and resettlement.

Sir Christopher Greenwood said:

“Britain’s standing to argue that Mauritius should be required to resettle Chagossians on the other islands, frankly, is somewhat undermined by the fact that the United Kingdom has consistently refused any suggestion of resettlement on the other islands. That is a position that the UK Government have reaffirmed relatively recently”.


Indeed, the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, replying in 2022 to a Written Question from the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, who is here this afternoon, wrote that, in November 2016—which was of course under a Conservative Government—

“the UK Government announced that resettlement of Chagossians could not be supported on the grounds of feasibility, defence and security interests, and cost to the British taxpayer. There remains no right of abode in BIOT”.

That was the Conservative position, so it is deeply irresponsible of the Opposition to try to suggest that the Chagos agreement has any legal impact on other British Overseas Territories, such as the Falklands and Gibraltar.

As my noble friend Lord Purvis said, we seek more clarity, as does the committee, about the implementation of the agreement, including on funding and resettlement. It is important that, before we vote this evening, the Minister gives assurances on the points raised by my noble friend.