- Justice James Lewis of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) Court has delivered a landmark ruling, affirming that Chagossians have a right of abode on their ancestral islands.
- This decision represents a significant setback for Keir Starmer's proposed deal to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a plan already facing considerable opposition, including from Donald Trump, concerning the strategic US-UK airbase on Diego Garcia.
- The ruling overturns a 2004 law introduced by Tony Blair's government that had prevented Chagossians from returning, and also reverses previous judgments by the Law Lords regarding their forced displacement in the 1960s and 1970s.
- Justice Lewis concluded that the government's prior arguments against the islanders' return, citing national security or prohibitive costs (estimating the Mauritius deal at £51bn), are now invalid, particularly as the proposed deal with Mauritius implies the islands can be populated, and in light of the UK's United Nations obligations.
- The UK government has already lodged an appeal against this judgment, which stemmed from a case initiated by four Chagossians who occupied one of the islands, and follows a non-binding International Court of Justice ruling that suggested the islands belonged to Mauritius.
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