Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Attorney General has discussed the UK-Mauritius Treaty over the future sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago with Philippe Sands.

Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Attorney General has never engaged in discussion with Philippe Sands on the UK-Mauritius Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have met Inter-Mediate since July 2024.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

Details of the external meetings held by ministers in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are routinely published in the Department's quarterly transparency disclosures.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish all the estimates he received on the financial costs of the UK-Mauritius Treaty from the Government Actuary's Department since 5 July 2024.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The cost of the Diego Garcia military base agreement in today's money is £101 million while the net present value over 99 years is £3.4 billion. These figures have been verified by the Government Actuary's Department and draw on long-established methodology to account for long-term projects. Full details are in the Explanatory Memorandum which was laid alongside the Treaty.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Minister for the Overseas Territories' answer to Q13 of the oral evidence session with the Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on 23 June 2025, when he will publish the costings of the financial implications of the UK-Mauritius Treaty.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer to question 66660.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of China's Gray Zone activities in (a) Mauritius, (b) the African continent and (c) the Indo-Pacific region on UK interests; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of those activities after UK-Mauritius Treaty comes into effect.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We are well aware of the tactics China have deployed in various regions, and these were taken into full consideration when the UK-Mauritius Treaty was being negotiated. This is one of the reasons that we ensured robust security provisions in the treaty. Both parties have committed to cooperate to prevent the base at Diego Garcia being undermined and to close consultation on any security concerns.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on what date he agreed to remove the provision to provide the UK with a unilateral right to extend the 99-year lease for the use of Diego Garcia from the draft UK-Mauritius Treaty.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As we have consistently said, we are not going to provide a commentary on the negotiations, nor our implementation talks. The final, agreed Treaty has been laid in Parliament.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer given 3 September 2025 to Questions 69773 on Chagos Islands: Marine Protected Areas, on what dates implementation talks have taken place since 22 May 2025; and which (a) ministers and (b) officials were present at those meetings.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As we have consistently said, we are not going to provide a commentary on the negotiations, nor our implementation talks. The final, agreed Treaty has been laid in Parliament.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 49 of the House of Lords International Agreements Committee report on the UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia, published on 25 June 2025, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Chagossian Trust Fund.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer to question 75385. The response to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee report will be published shortly.

Ahead of ratification, the Government will make a ministerial Statement in both Houses providing a factual update on eligibility for resettlement and the modalities of the trust fund. This will enable further discussion in a proper manner.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he will respond to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee's report entitled UK-Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia, HL 146, published on 25 June 2025.

Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Right Honourable Member to the answer to question 75385. The response to the House of Lords International Agreements Committee report will be published shortly.

Ahead of ratification, the Government will make a ministerial Statement in both Houses providing a factual update on eligibility for resettlement and the modalities of the trust fund. This will enable further discussion in a proper manner.

Found: friends to take seriously” the threat of nuclear proliferation.44 Shadow Foreign Secretary, Dame Priti Patel