Falklands could be the next to go after UK surrenders Chagos Islands

Labour’s decision to surrender control of the Chagos Islands has already prompted debate about other British Overseas Territories.

These include the Falklands and Gibraltar, which are subject to long-standing claims for a return to rule by Argentina and Spain respectively.

Admiral Lord West, former head of the Royal Navy, previously warned an agreement with Mauritius to surrender sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to the east African nation ‘threatens to undermine core British security interests, and those of key allies, most notably the United States’.

He wrote last year: ‘By agreeing the very principle of a Mauritian claim over Diego Garcia they are also putting at risk other British Overseas Territories such as the Falkland Islands.

‘Ceding the Chagos Islands to Mauritius will not address the plight of the Chagossians, who Mauritius has consistently ignored. Indeed, Mauritian treatment of the Chagossians has led many thousands of them to settle in the UK.’

Successive British prime ministers have stood firm in dismissing Argentina’s claim to the Falklands.

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Britain to hand over sovereignty of disputed Chagos Islands to Mauritius in historic deal

The Falklands were the subject of a short but brutal war after Argentina invaded the archipelago in the South Atlantic in 1982.

Britain drove out the invaders after dispatching a naval armada. The issue has never been considered settled in Buenos Aires, although new president Javier Milei recently admitted there was no ‘instant solution’ to the decades-old dispute and his government does not ‘seek conflict’, adding the matter was ‘in the hands of the UK’.

A spokesman for Tom Tugendhat’s campaign for Tory leadership said the former foreign affairs committee chairman would not allow British Overseas Territories to be surrendered - while taking aim at rival, former foreign secretary James Cleverly.

He said: ‘Labour’s decision to push forward the deal negotiated by James Cleverly to give up the Chagos Islands has raised questions about the Government’s commitment to the Falkland Islands.

‘The Falkland Islands are British. No debate. Full stop. Tom won’t trade away sovereignty.’

Gibraltar remains another coveted territory, more than 300 years after it was ceded by Spain to Britain.

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The mountainous three-mile long rock peninsula shares a land border with Spain, and Madrid remains insistent on eventually obtaining total sovereignty.

The Rock’s 2006 constitution stipulates that there can be no transfer of sovereignty to Spain against the wishes of its voters.

In a referendum in 2002, Gibraltarians resoundingly rejected the idea of joint sovereignty between the UK and Spain.

While both the Falklands and Gibraltar have large numbers of Britons, many Chagossians were forced to leave their island in the 1960s during the creation of the British Indian Ocean Territory and the military base on Diego Garcia.

Today, the atoll - the largest of the Chagos Islands - is home mostly to military personnel and contractors.

Chagos Islands dispute has been raging for decades... with key strategic base at stake 

When did Britain take control of the Chagos Islands? 

In the 1700s, a small number of French colonists settled on the uninhabited Chagos Islands and developed coconut plantations there.

They imported slaves from Africa to work on the plantations. 

And when French administration was replaced by the British at the end of the Napoleonic wars in the 19th century, the former slaves took over the coconut oil business and developed their own economy.  

As the years progressed, several generations of Chagos islanders developed a common language and culture. 

For administrative purposes, Britain grouped the Chagos Archipelago and several other islands together with Mauritius.

When and why did Britain forcibly remove the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands?  

In 1965, when Mauritius began negotiating its independence, Britain paid £3million to keep Chagos and a few other islands out of the settlement.

A year later, Britain signed Diego Garcia over to the United States on a 50-year lease, for use as a military base.

It was considered a useful strategic site during the Cold War, when the sea movements of the Soviet Union were of key interest.

However, the 1,000 Chagos Islanders were never informed of the changes. 

They were also not aware that once a US military base was established, their presence would not be tolerated.

In 1973, the British Government cleared the Chagos Archipelago of its inhabitants to make way for both the US base and its own installation. 

Dogs, including pets, were rounded up and killed.  

Some islanders who were sent to Mauritius ended up unemployed and living in slums.  

The UK did grant citizenship to some Chagossians in 2002, and many of them came to live in the UK.  

The US's 50-year lease was rolled over and is now set to expire in 2036. 

Its base is strategically crucial as a staging post for ships and air power.

For how long has British sovereignty of the Chagos Islands been disputed? 

Chagossians have fought for years to return to the land. 

A handful of islanders repeatedly took the British government to court.

In 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that residents who were forcibly removed could not return.  

Mauritius has long maintained that its islands are its own. 

In 2021, United Nations' highest court has ruled that the UK's control of the territory is 'unlawful'.

It said the Chagos Islands should be handed over to Mauritius.