Chagos Islands: Chagossians could get legal veto over 'surrender deal' with Mauritius after peers vote for draft bill

Chagossians could get legal veto over 'surrender deal' with Mauritius after peers vote for draft bill Thousands of Chaggosians settled in the UK after they were forcibly removed in the 1960s and 1970s Sign up to the Politics Newsletter Email address Sign up I agree to receive updates and information about my account, the GB News Community, and related products and services from GB News. By signing up you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and Community Rules. Thank you for signing up! See the latest from GB News here . Choose GB News on Google - add us as a preferred source Choose GB News Support GB News Champion free speech and independent journalism while unlocking exclusive benefits. Support us Chagossians could be handed a veto to stop the islands being handed to Mauritius under a Bill passed by peers this lunchtime. The British Sovereignty Protection (Chagos Islands) Bill, which cleared the second reading stage in the House of Lords today, would give Chagossians a veto over any deal. The proposed legislation would mean sovereignty transfers require a referendum of Chagossians, an Act of Parliament and approval by the islands' own administration. The Bill will now proceed to the committee stage, where it would need Government support to continue. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say It potentially gives Andy Burnham a way out of the deal, which has been attacked by US President Donald Trump. The Chagossian diaspora is thought to be overwhelmingly opposed to the agreement. Four Chagossians settled on the archipelago earlier this year to protest against Labour's plans to hand sovereignty to Mauritius. The descendants of thousands more Chagossians have settled in the UK after they were forcibly removed from the islands in the 1960s and 1970s. NEW Chagossians celebrate in Westminster Hall this lunchtime after peers voted to give them a veto on any transfer of sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Will the government let it become law? https://t.co/iJFkwhcVEy — Christopher Hope📝 (@christopherhope) October 23, 2026 Thousands of Chaggosians settled in the UK after they were forcibly removed in the 1960s and 1970s | GB NEWS Earlier this week, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting suggested Labour would push ahead with negotiations to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. He told MPs he was examining the issue "with a fresh pair of eyes". Mr Streeting added: “Having looked at this whole issue with a fresh pair of eyes, I’ve reached the same conclusion as every Prime Minister since Boris Johnson, including this one, which is the capabilities provided by that base makes it extremely unwise and a risk not worth taking to have legal uncertainty. “That is why efforts to negotiate a treaty continue, and they (the Conservatives) may disagree now. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Nigel Farage has a 'woman problem', says Tory MP Victoria Atkins: 'Women can see and smell sexism' 'War could be coming!' Kemi Badenoch urges Britons to get off benefits and prepare for conflict 'I step in to tell people to turn down their phones music,' Kemi Badenoch tells GB News Screen grab of the Chamber of Peers in the House of Lords | HOUSE OF LORDS/UK PARLIAMENT/PA “If they do, they should explain why Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and (Rishi Sunak) were all trying to achieve the same outcome.” The proposed legislation was brought forward as a private member's Bill by Democratic Unionist Party peer Lord Weir. Speaking during the debate, Lord Weir told peers: “I think it's time the Government faced up to reality, stopped flogging a dead horse and actually pursued a positive alternative course of action.” He criticised the approach to Mauritius, saying Chagos had been treated “as some prize that could be handed over by a medieval monarch at the end of some war”. Lord Weir branded Labour's previous Chagos legislation 'a shameful attempt to implement a shoddy deal' | PA Lord Weir also accused ministers of denying Chagossians the right to decide their own future, saying: “She speaks about discussions with them on a range of issues, but will not grant them the power on the most important thing, the right of self-determination.” He added: “Our treatment of the Chagossian people over many decades and many governments has been shameful.” The Bill passed the second reading without opposition and did not require a division in the upper chamber. The Chagos Islands became British in 1814 under the Treaty of Paris | GETTY Speaking to GB News before the vote, a Foreign Office spokesman said: “Securing the long-term operation of Diego Garcia remains a top priority for the Government, and protecting the base is the very reason for the agreement with Mauritius. “We will continue to work with the US and Mauritius to find a way forward that is in the UK's best interests and protects our national security.” A Government source added that ministers' position in relation to the private members' Bill would be "set out during the second reading debate tomorrow, as is the usual process". 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