UK deal to hand over Chagos Islands criticised over lack of say for Chagossians

Steeve Bancal, a trainee social worker from Sussex, was positive about the deal.

He said Mauritius was more likely to put resettlement plans in place for Chagossians than the UK, which had “done nothing” for the community.

He expressed hope to return to the islands with his mother, who was also removed from Diego Garcia. She resettled in Mauritius, where Mr Bancal was born.

Mr Bancal said it would be a “dream come true” for his mother, 74, to return to Diego Garcia.

However, he also criticised the negotiations, saying they happened “behind closed doors”.

“None of us were told what was happening. It’s unfair on us,” he said.

“It’s our heritage – we should have had one or two people in the room.

“I don’t think the UK government trusts us.”

Isabelle Charlot was born in Mauritius to Chagossian parents, and has lived in the UK – where she is the chairperson of the Chagos Islanders Movement – for 19 years.

She said she now hoped to return to the archipelago.

“That is what my family and I have been waiting for,” Ms Charlot told the BBC.

She said she welcomed the deal as a step toward “reclaiming [her] identity, heritage and homeland”, all of which had been “robbed” from her.

“I [knew] that the Labour government would want to right the historical wrongs and respect the international law,” she said.