THE government has washed itself of British Chagossians’ right to return in its latest deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, MPs heard today.

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty faced an urgent question in the Commons over the plan after it was criticised by the new Mauritian president on Tuesday.

Forming part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, annexed from the colony of Mauritius in 1965 before independence was granted, islanders were forcibly removed to make way for US and British military interests.

The government says a deal to hand over the territory and lease back the British-US military base on Diego Garcia is necessary following an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in a case brought by Mauritius.

Former Labour leader and founder member of the Chagos Islands all-party parliamentary group Jeremy Corbyn said: “[Chagossians’] one unifying cause is the right of return and settlement.

“The ICJ judgement was very very clear… is there any more evidence that’s necessary to indicate that it’s clearly part of Mauritius and the Chagossians obviously have rights within Mauritius as well as on the Chagos Islands when hopefully they’ll be able to return?”

Insisting that his engagement showed British Chagossians have a “range of views,” Mr Doughty confirmed “that the programme of visits will include the ability to visit all of the islands including Diego Garcia with the appropriate safeguards in place.

“And I hope a resettlement of the outer islands, there is certainly provision there for that to happen and I think this is one of the most likely scenarios in which Chagossians can finally return to those outer islands.”

Peter Lamb, Labour MP for Crawley, home to Britain’s largest Chagossian community, said most would face up to 10 years in jail under a Mauritian ban on questioning of the integrity of the country’s territories.

Mr Doughty replied that the deal “provides for the Chagossians to return to the outer islands [and] be able to resettle if Mauritius decides to pursue a programme of resettlement.”

On Tuesday, new Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said the draft deal “would not produce the benefits that the nation could expect” and negotiations had restarted.

Mr Doughty said Mr Ramgoolam had reiterated “his willingness to conclude a deal with the UK,” adding that it “protects the base at proportionate cost” and has been supported “across the national security architecture in the United States and by India.”

He ignored Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s call for the deal to be put to a referendum of exiled Chagossians.