There was national outrage this morning at the news that Sir Keir’s Labour has decided to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius – but perhaps Brits shouldn’t be so shocked by Starmer’s move. It transpires that the Prime Minister is friends with Philippe Sands KC, who also happens to be Mauritius’ chief legal adviser – and a longtime campaigner for the country to control the land. How very curious…
As revealed by Guido Fawkes, Sands has slaved away in international courts to successfully convince the lefty lot to give away the strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean. In January, the legal adviser informed parliament that:
As a member of the Bar of England and Wales I have acted as counsel to Mauritius since 2010 in relation to the Chagos Archipelago. As such, I have been involved in the proceedings before the Annex VII arbitral tribunal (2010-2015), the International Court of Justice (ICJ, 2017-2019) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS, 2019-2023). I continue to advise the Government of Mauritius.
In March, Sands addressed the Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on the Overseas Territories on the very issue of the Chagos Islands, insisting:
As a matter of international law, the situation today is crystal clear: Mauritius is recognised to have sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, and the UK is considered to have no rights over that territory, or even a claim. Accordingly, this is not a situation in which it would be appropriate or correct for the Sub-Committee to make reference to any future transfer of sovereignty by the United Kingdom: the United Kingdom has no sovereignty to transfer.
Crikey. The reasons behind the controversial move are starting to become a little clearer now, eh? It’s handy having friends in high places…
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