Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 6 January (HL3268), whether anyone provided external legal advice; if so, who; by what process such providers of legal advice were commissioned; and, what relevant interests, if any, they declared with regard to the Chagos Islands.

The Government has sought external legal advice at various times throughout the negotiations with Mauritius. The specific counsel instructed has depended on the nature of the legal issues involved. Counsel have a professional obligation not to accept instructions where there is a conflict of interest.