#chagos-islands

#chagos-islands

The interim first minister of the Chagossian government in exile has said he is hopeful that Sir Keir Starmer's controversial deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius will be stopped on Monday. Louis Misley Mandarin spoke to The Independent ahead of two crucial decisions on the deal, which would see the UK pay Mauritious at least 120 million annually during a 99-year agreement to lease back the military base on Diego Garcia.

The granddaughter of one of those residents was in tears as she thought about her homeland's history when she landed at Heathrow. "My grandmother was a British Chagossian," said Rebecca Philippe. "Fifty years ago, she was uprooted from her island, and we have seen her suffering. By seeing her suffering, we suffered too, with her."