Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the 25 February 2019 ICJ ruling on Chagos Islands sovereignty.

On 25 February the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. An Advisory Opinion is not a judgment. We are considering the detail carefully, including consulting cross-Whitehall and with our overseas posts. The defence facilities on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) help to protect people here in Britain and around the world from terrorist threats, organised crime and piracy. The UK has a longstanding commitment to cede sovereignty over BIOT when we no longer need the territory to help keep us and others safe.