‘Very sad day’ as judge paves way for Chagos deal, says Briton born on island
Bertrice Pompe, who was born on the Chagos Islands, said she was not giving up after the decision to lift an injunction.
A British woman born on the Chagos Islands has said it is a “very, very sad day” after an injunction blocking the signing of the Government’s deal over the territory was lifted.
The deal, which would see Britain give up sovereignty of the island territory to Mauritius and lease back a crucial military base there, was due to be signed on Thursday morning but was temporarily blocked by an injunction hours earlier before being signed on Thursday afternoon.
Mr Justice Goose granted an injunction at 2.25am against the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) after a bid for “interim relief” was successfully made by Bertrice Pompe, one of two British women born on the Chagos Islands who is set to bring legal action against the Government over the deal.
However, after a hearing later on Thursday, a different High Court judge lifted the injunction.
Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, Ms Pompe said that while it was a “very, very sad day”, she was “not giving up”.
She said: “Unfortunately, today has been a very, very sad day, but we take courage with the people we have behind us.”
She continued: “For us to be able to push through our message to the Government.
“They are not treating us, that we are human beings. We have rights. We are British citizens, yet our right doesn’t count?
“We don’t want to give our rights, hand over our rights to Mauritius. We’re not Mauritians, and I don’t think we will get any … the rights we’re asking for now, we’ve been fighting for for 60 years. Mauritius not going to give that to us.
“So we need to keep fighting with the British Government to listen to us.”
Dozens of protesters were gathered outside the central London court after the ruling, where at one point demonstrators could be heard chanting “no retreat, no surrender”.
Deputy leader of Reform, Richard Tice MP, was also outside the Royal Courts of Justice and could be seen ripping up paper before hugging some of the demonstrators.
Michael Polak, a barrister representing Ms Pompe and Bernadette Dugasse, another British woman born on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands, said his clients were both disappointed by the decision.
He said: “Previous court decisions in the English courts have mentioned the shameful treatment of the Chagossian people in the 1960s and, unfortunately, under this Government, it seems that shameful treatment has not stopped.
“The people who are closest to the Chagos island, the Chagos islanders, have not been consulted.
“Their future has not been considered by this Government in rushing through and signing a deal this afternoon.”
Mr Polak later told reporters that the case now “moves into the political sphere where British people have to ask themselves and ask their MPs ,‘do we agree in what is taking place?’”
Planned legal action over the deal, brought by Ms Pompe and Ms Dugasse over the lawfulness of the deal, will continue, the barrister added.
Misley Mandarin, a Chagossian who runs the group BIOT (British Indian Ocean Territory) Citizens, said he is “very disappointed” by the ruling.
Speaking to Sky News outside the court, Mr Mandarin said: “We’ve been fighting more than 50 years. Like I said earlier, no retreat, no surrender. We will fight to the end … we will not, never, never let our island, a British island, to go to Mauritius.”
“We will try to talk to the Government again, if it don’t listen to us,” Mr Mandarin continued.
“We are ready, ready to go to the fight to the end.”
