Protest ouside of high court during Chagos Islands deal case

A judge has cleared the way for the Government to sign its deal over the Chagos Islands

Transcript

00:00The Chagos Islands is a group of several atolls in the Indian Ocean and they form part of

00:07the British Indian Ocean Territory. The Prime Minister has now signed an agreement to hand

00:14over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a controversial deal that will

00:21cost £101 million per year. This deal was due to be signed on Thursday morning but was

00:27temporarily blocked by an injunction hours before. Mr Justice Goose granted an injunction

00:35against the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office for interim relief to Beatrice Pump,

00:44who was one of two British women born on the Chagos Islands who are now set to launch a

00:51legal challenge against the government. Many Chagosians are full British citizens and there

00:59remains a Chagosian population in London. Much of the anger aimed towards this deal comes

01:07from the island natives who were initially expelled from the islands in the 60s and are now due

01:14to lose their homelands to Mauritius. Well, I think British justice, they take care of who

01:23they want, when they want. They haven't been able to rectify the wrongs they have done to

01:29us, the Chagosians, for 60 years. They still want to give deaf ears to our cries and we're not giving up.

01:38I'm the Chagosian lead of the Friend of the British Overseas Territory and British Citizen

01:44Platform Representative. We are here to support the two Chagosians who are actually in the court today

01:53and because what's happening about the Prime Minister trying to sign the deal with the Mauritius government.

02:02That is frustrating all the Chagosians because they are not respecting our right as a Chagosian

02:08and as the Chagos Island is a UK sovereignty. I'm hopeful that the judge will say cancel this deal

02:19and we don't talk about it. For the Prime Minister, I will say to the Prime Minister to listen to the British people.