Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department received legal advice on the imminence of legal rulings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Chagos Islands.

The Government's position in relation to the UK-Mauritius treaty has been informed by legal advice throughout. The Government's legal position was set out on 22 May when the treaty was signed, and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-secures-future-of-vital-diego-garcia-military-base-to-protect-national-security