Speeches by Doughty.

“There is a separate agreement with Mauritius.”

“Not as part of the £101 million average costs per year, but part of the separate agreement with Mauritius on development partnership will apply to environmental and other concerns, but I am very happy to write to you separately about that because I do not have those figures in front of me.”

“My understanding—I am happy to provide further clarity in writing if that is helpful—is that the additional partnership that we are doing with Mauritius has a number of different aspects to it, but that is separate from this treaty, which is as I have set out and as the explanatory memorandum of the costs set out—”

“Ultimately, decisions about the management of the outer archipelago will be for Mauritius.”

“There is a separate agreement with the Mauritian development partnership, and there are different aspects to that. The costs for the treaty are, as I set out, an average of £101 million per year.”

“The wildlife is very important, but the primary objective here, of course, was to protect the operation of the base and put the situation on a sustainable footing. However, environmental protections are very, very important and getting it right will certainly be a focus for me and other Ministers. By the way, this obvi…”

“The fundamental object of the treaty is to protect the base on Diego Garcia. That was our primary objective.”

“Well, they are part of the agreement, and they were certainly part of the discussions. It was very clear from the beginning—”

“Yes, and we are looking to support Mauritius more broadly on these targets. A key part of our separate partnership with Mauritius is focused on the environment, nature and conservation, so this is a dual way in which we can achieve those goals. Peter, do you want to add anything?”

“Officials are already discussing it, and I will bring in Peter to say a bit more. Essentially, we are trying to meet the 30% target and, globally, the SDGs. We want to be in line with all the relevant international frameworks, including the IUCN.”

“Very, Mr Stephenson. You know, Chair, that we have spoken about this before and these issues are very important to me, both in relation to the overseas territories and more generally, as they are to the Foreign Secretary and other colleagues. You will be pleased to know that, at the oceans conference in Nice last week,…”

“With respect, you are speaking of hypotheticals. This will allow resettlement of the outer islands, and we will be re-establishing the visits to the islands, including to Diego Garcia. That is certainly a thing that I have had raised with me by many Chagossians in this country and those outside as well.”

“But this is a process and discussion that has been going on for many, many years.”

“The previous Government decided there would be no resettlement of the islands back in, I think, 2016.”

“Ultimately, this is going to be for Mauritius to determine, but it provides the best chance possible for people to return. Of course, it is worth remembering that on the outer islands there is not infrastructure; there is not any way of inhabiting those islands at the moment, except for very temporary periods of time, …”

“Mauritius will be responsible for resettlement on the outer islands. We are—”

“The British Chagossians will have the ability to return under resettlement. It is most likely the first time that many of them would have had the chance, and crucially, an ability to visit with the visits programme.”

“We are very clear that what happened historically was wrong, as reflected on the face of the treaty. The islands do not have a permanent population now, and they have never been self-governing. There were a number of court cases previously on these matters. There were payments that were made in full and final settlemen…”

“There have been extensive discussions with the Mauritian Government about the nature of the trust fund and how it will operate. Ultimately, though, it will be their responsibility—I do not shy away from that; it is for Mauritius to operate. There are many Chagossians in Mauritius who are very supportive of this process…”

“The first point is that this, fundamentally, was a negotiation between two states—between the UK and Mauritius. Nevertheless, I have engaged with Chagossian groups on a number of occasions. It is worth recognising that there is a wide range of opinion in the Chagossian communities. There are some Chagossian groups—Chag…”