I am disgusted at the Labour Government’s disgraceful signing over of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.  Make no mistake, this is the worst foreign policy decision of the last fifty years and will have serious consequences in the years and decades ahead.

Britain is now seen as weak in the eyes of emboldened regimes who are against us.  Labour will be paying £30 billion of public money to Mauritius, a country that’s been actively working against our interests and whom is an ally of China, who themselves are illegally taking over islands in international waters in the South China Sea to create military bases. 

Without sovereignty, it’s harder for Britain to enable any resettlement, helping to address the wrongs that a previous Labour Government did to the Chagossian people, when they forcibly removed from their islands.  They’ve been treated with total contempt yet again by a Labour Government, with their voices ignored throughout the whole process.  A Chagossian Crawley resident described the process and the deal to me as “heartbreaking.”       

Following the deal signing, the political commentator Andrew Neil wrote a column for the Daily Mail with the following insightful heading: “In 55 years of covering politics, I've never accused any UK government of routinely telling untruths.  But Starmer & Co have taken lying and gaslighting to a deplorable level”. 

We were also constantly misled by Nigel Farage and his Reform party, that the Americans under Trump would block the deal, but Farage was rumbled when the awful Trump Administration (that Farage supports), backed the grubby deal.

I hope a future government will launch an investigation into this rotten deal, including searching for wrongdoing, corruption and criminality.  We know that Starmer’s close personal friend undertook a pivotal legal role for Mauritius in the negotiations, and I suspect more concerning information will emerge in time.

Our country and our many local citizens of Chagossian descent have been betrayed.  Until justice is done, I advocate everyone opposed to this deal to put usual preferences aside, and to vote against Labour in every local and national election until this Labour Government are removed. 

Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group

28th May 2025