Chagossians’ rights
Further appeals will delay justice for the Chagossians
Sir, We urge the Prime Minister to follow his speech “On Liberty” (Oct 25) by accepting the right of the Chagossians to return to their islands. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has lost three times in the courts on this issue. The law lords have now given a deadline of November 6, and told the FCO that it would have to meet all the costs of a further appeal, whatever the outcome.
After losing in the High Court in 2000, the FCO accepted the Chagossians’ right to return. Then in 2004 it used two Orders in Council to remove that right. The unanimous judgment of the Appeal Court on May 23 was that this was illegal: “the two Orders in Council negate one of the most fundamental liberties known to human beings, the freedom to return to one’s homeland..
For the FCO to proceed with a further appeal would waste more public funds, delay justice for the Chagossians and expose the Prime Minister’s words as hollow. Can we please have a return to good sense, justice and British liberties?
