Bertrice Pompe, a British national born in the Chagos Islands, has expressed her fury at the UK Government's deal to transfer sovereignty of the archipelago to Mauritius, while vowing to continue fighting against the agreement.
The deal, signed on Thursday after a judge overturned a last-minute injunction brought by Pompe herself, has sparked outrage among the Chagossian community who claim they were not consulted during negotiations.
Pompe's legal challenge temporarily halted the carefully choreographed signing ceremony before it was ultimately allowed to proceed.
The deal will allow Britain to retain control of the strategically important US-UK air base on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, under a 99-year lease.
Bertrice Pompe, a British national born in the Chagos Islands, has expressed her fury at the UK government's deal
GB NEWS
Speaking to GB News, Pompe explained: "A lot of Chagossians are furious, but I’m hopeful. When I look at all the support we had yesterday from Chagossians in different countries, different parts of the UK, I am hopeful, and we are going to fight this. We have hope."
She added: "Since 60 years ago, since we were dumped in Mauritius, the Seychelles, and other countries that didn’t want us in the first place, we were removed from our islands.
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"The British government has been treating us as if we don’t exist. The Mauritian government has been treating us as if we’re not human beings as well. So why now?
"They say they will take care of us because of this deal. We’ve been trying for six years to get the British government to realise we are humans.
"We want our human rights, we want self-determination, we want to stand up for ourselves. Why are we not being looked at?"
"I understand that outside the court yesterday there was a huge round of applause for Richard Tice, because he tore up the contract and the bill," said GB News host Martin Daubney.
Tice reportedly pledged that if Reform were to form the next government, they would attempt to reverse the controversial deal.
The gesture has given some Chagossians hope that a future change in government could lead to a more favourable outcome.
Pompe also warned British citizens about the financial implications of the agreement, saying: "Other British people, those born in this country, should be concerned as well. Don't be shy, let's join forces because it's going to come out of your pockets as well."
Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam welcomed the agreement, saying: "With this agreement, we are completing the total process of decolonisation. It's total recognition of our sovereignty on the Chagos, including Diego Garcia."
The Chagos Islands deal was signed yesterday
GettyPrime Minister Keir Starmer defended the deal, saying: "The strategic location of this base is of the utmost significance to Britain, from deploying aircraft to defeat terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan to anticipating threats in the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific."
The multibillion-dollar agreement includes a £3.4 billion package over the lease term, with additional annual payments of £45 million for 25 years to support Mauritian development, and a £40 million trust fund for displaced Chagossians.
Starmer noted that the full rationale behind the decision remains "highly classified" but suggested failure to reach a settlement could have led to legal action where Britain was likely to lose.
