David Lammy has been accused of misleading the House of Commons over the crumbling Chagos deal by a member of his own party.
The government’s agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands – including the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia – to Mauritius has been plagued by issues since it was announced in October, with concerns Donald Trump could veto the deal and the new Mauritian government demanding further concessions from Britain.
But now there also appears to be growing discontent from within Labour itself.
Speaking at a meeting at Portcullis House for MPs to engage with indigenous Chagossian people, Peter Lamb, Labour MP for Crawley, claimed there is “certainly evidence” that statements made in the Commons by the foreign secretary “do not appear to be true”, referencing claims that the government has engaged with the Chagossians throughout the process of striking a deal.
The comments made by Mr Lamb – whose constituency is home to the largest community of Chagossians in the UK – highlight the fractious state of relations over the deal, the future of which is becoming increasingly uncertain.
On 7 October 2024, the foreign secretary told the House of Commons: “Of course we kept the Chagossians informed all along the way.”
Chagossian Voices – a campaign group representing indigenous people originating from the islands – said they have not met with Mr Lammy, and that Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty, who has met with the group twice since the deal was agreed, refused to discuss the negotiations.
Mr Doughty met members of the Chagossian community on 30 September and 3 October and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sources have insisted officials have been in regular contact with Chagossians on a range of issues. But it is understood that Mr Doughty told those present at the meetings that he could not speak about the negotiations.
Jean-Francois Nellan, who was present at both meetings, said the second was just 10 minutes long, while the first, he said, lasted 30 minutes.
While the foreign secretary has claimed that Chagossian interests are “at the heart of the deal”, testimonies from more than 10 indigenous campaigners in attendance at the meeting made it clear they don’t agree.
Carl Buckley, a lawyer working with Chagossian Voices, told the meeting: “We have a secretary of state who is on the record saying, all of these [people] have been consulted when they have not.
“There is a refusal to correct the record, there is a refusal to respond to correspondence that they have sent. There is an utter refusal to engage with these people. So their humanity, their individuality, is being ignored.
“They were forcibly removed from their homes, but they are again being ignored now over 50 years later when we are discussing their homeland.”
Responding, Mr Lamb said: “I’ve forwarded their [Chagossian Voices] correspondence again and asked for a response. Freedom of Information requests are going largely unanswered, the argument being national security, which I find very difficult with the questions that I was asking.”
He added: “There is certainly evidence that statements made in the house by the foreign secretary do not appear to be true.”
Asked about Mr Lamb’s remarks, a spokesperson for Chagossian Voices told The Independent: “There has been no engagement. We never met with Lammy. And we only spoke to Stephen Doughty after the negotiations were over.”
The foreign secretary has previously argued that “it is hard to get one view” from the Chagossians as there are “Chagossians in the Seychelles, in Mauritius and in the United Kingdom”, saying the government “will continue to do all we can to support them”.
Critics of the deal are concerned about the future of the airbase on Diego Garcia, and also the potential for China to gain access to the islands.
Mr Lammy had agreed a deal with Mauritius, but following a change of government there, the new Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam rejected it as “not good enough” and demanded more from the UK.
Shadow armed forces minister, Mark Francois, said: “The foreign secretary’s benighted Chagos deal just staggers from one disaster to another. Not only are president Trump’s team clearly very unhappy with it, but now even Labour backbenchers are speaking out against it too.
“If David Lammy had any sense he would stop digging and abandon the whole bonkers plan, sooner rather than later.”
But the foreign secretary has insisted that it is “a good deal” which secures the long-term future of the airbase. He has also pointed out that the International Court of Justice ruled that the islands belong to Mauritius.
A government spokesperson said: “The negotiations were between the UK and Mauritius with our priority being to secure the full operation of the base on Diego Garcia.
“We recognise the importance of the islands to Chagossians and have worked to ensure this agreement reflects their interests. The UK government, under both the previous and current administration, has been engaged with Chagossians at both official and ministerial level during negotiations which first started in November 2022.
“As part of the agreement, we will finance a new trust fund for Mauritius to use in support of the Chagossian community. We will work with Mauritius to start a new programme of visits for Chagossians to the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia. And Mauritius will be free to develop a programme of resettlement on the islands, other than Diego Garcia.”
