Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans he has for allowing parliamentary time for (a) scrutiny and (b) ratification of the UK/Mauritius: Agreement concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia.

We have consistently said that, once a deal was signed, we would lay it before the House for scrutiny in the usual way. That is exactly what we have done. Parliamentary business will be arranged in the usual way.

I have appeared before the IRDC/IAC on 17 June and the FAC on 23 June to discuss the agreement, I have also answered over a hundred written parliamentary questions on the Chagos Archipelago since 22 May.