Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March to Question 116530 on Diego Garcia: Military Bases, if he will list all treaties his Department has assessed that Mauritius could pursue a legally binding ruling.

I know the hon. Gentleman will recall that the previous Government began the negotiations on BIOT and held rounds of negotiations. He may perhaps also recall the rationale given by Ministers then.

It is important that the UK Government is able to take legal advice in confidence. It would also not be prudent to set out all the possible litigation options for another State against the UK. We have already set out some possible routes to a legally binding judgment, and these have been discussed at length including in expert evidence given to the International Agreements Committee in June 2025.