A cash-strapped London council has renewed warnings over the increasing number of people from the Chagos Islands arriving at Heathrow and needing homelessness services.
Hillingdon town hall has seen 621 individuals (168 families) of Chagossian descent fly into the airport since July 2024 - with 157 more people expected this week alone.
Most have no accommodation planned and the local authority warned it is forcing already strained support services to “breaking point”.
The town hall predicts it will now spend up to £2 million of council taxpayer cash on the arrivals by the end of the year.
This is on top of the £5 million it already pays out to support asylum seekers who had been placed in the borough by the Home Office.
Councillor Steve Tuckwell, the cabinet member responsible for housing, told the Standard: “It’s crucifying us. We are at breaking point.
“Councils across London and the country are facing problems funding temporary accommodation and social care.
“But our pressure is slightly more unique because of Heathrow Airport. We are the local authority, so when these people arrive they become our responsibility.
“The sale of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is causing a lot of anxiety to Chagossians and we are expecting more and more to arrive.
“They have British citizenship and we will look to support them in any way we can but we are calling on Government to support us.
“This is caused by a national policy and it’s unfair for this burden to fall on Hillingdon taxpayers.”
The Chagossians were expelled from the islands in the Indian Ocean between 1965 and 1973 to make way for a UK/US military base.
The UK launched a British nationality route for individuals of Chagossian descent in 2022.
Under the terms of a treaty signed by the Government in May, Mauritius will gain sovereignty of the islands but allow the US and UK to continue operating a military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia, for an initial period of 99 years.
Under the agreement, Britain is expected to pay an average of £101 million a year to continue operating the base with the US.
The deal has sparked concern among Chagossians, with a UN panel warning that by preventing the people from returning to Diego Garcia "the agreement appears to be at variance with the Chagossians' right to return.”
Mr Tuckwell said the council was setting up a “processing centre” this week in anticipation of the number of families expected to arrive at Heathrow.
Tory-run Hillingdon, which has had to make £34 million of cuts to its budget this year, has a duty to support the majority of households who fly in as they have at least one child, but the town hall says the Government only fund their first 10 days in the country.
“We get a bit of a heads up from the charities we work with about the number of people expected,” he said.
“It takes a lot of officers away from their other jobs.
“Council taxpayers have seen bills increase by the maximum we’re allowed each year.
“We have had to start charging for things like green waste services, we are looking at areas where we can drive other efficiencies.
“Essentially, we’ve reached a crisis point. This isn’t political, all we are asking for is to be funded fairly.”
The Government has previously said it is “committed to working in partnership with local authorities to ensure they are able to support arrivals in their area”
A spokesman added: “Government funding has also been made available to support local authorities, including Hillingdon in circumstances where arrival numbers are creating unmanageable local pressures.”
