A Lords vote that was due to go ahead on Tuesday night has been thrown into procedural limbo after Ministers abruptly pulled their committal motion on the Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill. The withdrawal landed only hours after Chagossian families and their supporters had thrown everything into persuading peers to back a consultation amendment.
That amendment, tabled by Conservative peer Lord Callanan, would have obliged the Government to run a 30-day consultation with the Chagossian people before the Bill could move to committee stage.
Campaigners Claim Victory — For Now
Our campaign at the Great British PAC, which has been coordinating efforts on behalf of Chagossian claimants, regards the sudden retreat as a “significant win.” In our view it betrays Government unease about just how much support a formal consultation requirement had gathered.
Working into the small hours ahead of the anticipated vote, campaigners Misley Mandarin, Christopher Howarth, Dan Boucher, Robert Midgley and Caroline Smith contacted peers one after another.
By this morning, peers had been told the Government was withdrawing its committal motion altogether. With no committal motion in place, Lord Callanan’s amendment simply could not be moved. The Bill will still get its Second Reading, but the House will not agree to commit it to committee — leaving the legislation in abeyance unless and until Ministers table a fresh motion. A Conservative peer involved in the discussions told the Great British PAC that campaigners could “claim success” for the immediate result.
The Callanan Amendment
Under Lord Callanan’s proposal, the committee stage could not begin until the Government had:
- Carried out a public consultation of at least 30 days with the Chagossian people on the UK-Mauritius Agreement covering the future of the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia; and published a report setting out Chagossian responses and concerns about impacts on rights, property, culture and wellbeing.
Forced from their islands between 1968 and 1973 to make way for the joint UK-US military base, the Chagossian community has spent decades pressing for a genuine voice in decisions about the archipelago’s future.
Personal Appeals From Chagossian Claimants
Peers had received a letter on Monday from Chagossian claimant Misley Mandarin — a British citizen and Armed Forces veteran — calling on them to support the amendment. Mandarin’s letter set out the historic displacement of the Chagossians, the toll exile has taken across generations, and the community’s wish for consultation and self-determination.
He argued that choices about the archipelago, now the subject of UK-Mauritius negotiations, were being taken “without us,” and that consultation amounted to “the bare minimum of justice.” The letter also pointed to the Government-commissioned KPMG feasibility study, which concluded that certain resettlement models could be viable.
Judicial Review Still Pending
At the same time, the Great British PAC is backing a legal challenge led by barrister James Tumbridge, which seeks a judicial review of how the Government has handled its decision-making on the proposed treaty arrangements and its alleged failure to consult Chagossians. The High Court heard the matter last week, and a judge is expected to rule later this week on whether it can advance to a full judicial review.
Campaigners caution that, should the judicial review fall away, Ministers would be free to bring back a committal motion and to resist any amendment requiring consultation.
Government Position
Ministers have offered no public explanation for withdrawing the motion. They have previously maintained that talks with Mauritius are ongoing and that the Bill is needed to underpin the UK’s international commitments.
Next Steps
For the moment the Bill is stuck at its Second Reading. Without a new committal motion from the Government, peers can neither table amendments nor start line-by-line scrutiny.
Campaigners say they will keep pushing for a formal consultation and for Chagossian voices to count in decisions about the islands’ future. “Today shows the Government is feeling the pressure,” one organiser said. “But the fight is far from over. The Chagossians must have a say.”
By Claire Bullivant, Great British PAC CEO