Member

That consultation by the Select Committee is clear that the Chagossian people are far from satisfied with the Government’s position, underlining the imperative for the Government to undertake their own consultation. I know it is the Government’s view that the Chagossians have no right to self-determination in law, and I also know how painful it was for the Chagossian people to hear the Minister express that view from the Dispatch Box in Committee. Whatever the Government’s view on the legal position, it is clear that the Chagossians have, if not a legal then at least a moral right to be consulted. The International Relations and Defence Committee stated in its report: