Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) engagement and (b) consultation he (i) has had and (ii) plans to have with parliamentarians on the treaty with Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory.

As well as responding to numerous parliamentary and urgent questions regarding negotiations with Mauritius around the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) treaty. In December 2024 I met with the Chagos All party Parliamentary Group (APPG) where I briefed members of both houses on the deal. That month Baroness Chapman briefed Liberal Democrat Peers and Harriet Matthews, deputy chief negotiator for the BIOT treaty, briefed the Foreign Affairs Committee. In November 2024 the Foreign Secretary also appeared before the commons select committee on Foreign Affairs.

Later this month I will be briefing the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories APPG where I will further answer questions around the treaty.