Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of (a) the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Paul Bérenger in Mauritius and (b) his allegations of corruption.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
None of the issues raised by the Rt Hon Member are matters for the UK Government, and none of them have any bearing on the future status of the Diego Garcia base, or the treaty negotiated with Mauritius.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the timing of the public commentary by the government of Mauritius on the Iranian missile attack on Diego Garcia.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
None of the issues raised by the Rt Hon Member are matters for the UK Government, and none of them have any bearing on the future status of the Diego Garcia base, or the treaty negotiated with Mauritius.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her Mauritian counterpart on the arrest of the former Prime Minister of that country in relation to money laundering issues.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
These legal proceedings are a matter for the Mauritian authorities.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the cost was of deploying a patrol vessel and personnel for the interception at sea of humanitarian aid for British Chagossian resettlers on 11 April 2026; and whether any personnel involved in that operation were deployed to the Chagos Archipelago from (a) the United Kingdom and (b) any other British jurisdiction for that mission.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
These are operational matters for the British Indian Overseas Territory (BIOT) Authority, discharged under the powers provided in the BIOT (Immigration) Order 2004.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is her policy to prevent the provision of (a) mosquito nets, (b) sunglasses and (c) water purifying systems from entering the British Indian Ocean Territory on vessels visiting the Chagos Archipelago to resupply the British Chagossians encamped there.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
These are operational matters for the British Indian Overseas Territory (BIOT) Authority, discharged under the powers provided in the BIOT (Immigration) Order 2004.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the purpose is of the visit to Mauritius by UK officials on 22 April 2026; and what the principal subjects to be discussed are.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 13 February in response to Question 110763.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of sovereignty over the Chagos Islands being ceded to Mauritius on (a) observance of and (b) the operation of AFCONE’s inspection regime for enforcing the Pelindaba Treaty; and whether her Department has raised these matters with counterparts in the United States.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer provided on 3 February to Question 109503 on the same issue.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her US counterpart on the statement issued by the United Nations’ Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 8 December 2025 on the ratification of the UK-Mauritius agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Ministers and officials in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are in constant discussion with their US counterparts across a wide range of issues.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many applications were made by (a) Chagossians and (b) other nationalities to visit the British Indian Ocean Territory in each of the last 5 years; and how many of those applications were accepted.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration is responsible for immigration matters in BIOT.
The last Heritage Visit for Chagossians to visit the Archipelago took place in February 2020, and was attended by 27 Chagossians. Heritage visits were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during treaty negotiations with Mauritius. The Government acknowledges the importance of heritage visits to the Chagossian community and is working to reinstate these as soon as possible.
Asked by: Julian Lewis (Conservative - New Forest East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the last trip was organised by the Government to the British Indian Ocean Territory for Chagossians to visit their homeland; and how many Chagossians participated in that visit.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Administration is responsible for immigration matters in BIOT.
The last Heritage Visit for Chagossians to visit the Archipelago took place in February 2020, and was attended by 27 Chagossians. Heritage visits were paused in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and during treaty negotiations with Mauritius. The Government acknowledges the importance of heritage visits to the Chagossian community and is working to reinstate these as soon as possible.