Chagos Islands Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Chagos Islands

Lord Ramsbotham Excerpts
Tuesday 10th November 2015

(9 years ago)

Lords Chamber
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Earl of Courtown Portrait The Earl of Courtown
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The noble Lord makes a very good point, particularly relating to the Chagossian communities in Crawley and Manchester. Of course, they are going to want a certain lifestyle if they return to those islands. I know that the KPMG report looked at the numbers that could be employed by the authorities on Diego Garcia, but I can tell the House that, until we make a final examination of the results of this consultation, nothing can be agreed.

Lord Ramsbotham Portrait Lord Ramsbotham (CB)
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My Lords, as a member of the All-Party Group on the Chagos Islands, I ask the Minister to be more precise about the word “soon”. This is a word that has been used by successive Governments for the past eight years, to my certain knowledge. Frankly, we would like some more precision.

Earl of Courtown Portrait The Earl of Courtown
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My Lords, somebody whispered in my ear, “Very soon”. I and other noble Lords who have been Members of this House for a very long time have used the term “soon”, but I can assure the noble Lord that it will be soon.