Chagos Islands leader blasts ‘disgusting’ government bid to remove them

The Interim First Minister of the Chagos Islands has launched an attack on the “disgusting” British government over its bid to remove their community.

Misley Mandarin told GB News: “This is 2026, and it’s really appalling to see your taxpayer money and your viewers as well, tax money being used against British Overseas Territories citizens to remove them from their homeland.

“And for me, it’s really disgusting what this Labour government is doing right now. Paying top lawyers to represent the government to remove Chagossians from our island, from British territory.

“We’re about 130 miles away from the military base, and this is not our intention, to interfere with national security.

“And you see the hypocrisy, I just heard the Overseas Territories Minister Stephen Doughty saying to the Falkland Islands, he’s behind them, he supports self-determination.

“What about the Chagossians? What about us? Are we humans?”

Criticising Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy, Mandarin argued: “You’ve got lawyers like Keir Starmer and lawyers like David Lammy, they never take into account our rights, our self-determination.

“Are we human, the Chagossians, to this Labour Government? But we can fight to the end.

“Basically, we’re not going anywhere. This is my home, my dad’s place of birth, and I’m willing to have more Chagossians born on the island. We are not going anywhere.

“We caught some octopuses the other day, we’re catching fish and we’re living the life.”

He added: “Yesterday, the Government argued saying that to resettle the Chagossians on British territory as British citizens is about cost.

“But if you see the deal, spending £35 billion, giving away your tax money to Mauritius, aligned to China, there’s no logic.

“You spend that money toward British citizens that are Chagossians who are willing to keep the territory as British.”